


Tous Les Mêmes

by DaisyQueenYisel



Series: Tous Les Meme AU [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Identity Reveal, Slow Burn, You're Welcome, all aboard the discourse train, get ready for a wild fucking ride, more story than ship, probably, this has been on my mind for the longest time and now here i am ready to serve you trash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-30 17:12:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 45,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6433141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaisyQueenYisel/pseuds/DaisyQueenYisel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>May not have been what they expected, but hey; a second chance is a second chance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's A Problem, Once Yours, Now Mine

**Author's Note:**

> heads up: two more miraculi to give, but i wanted to write this first chapter to start it off
> 
> (also i may or may not be naming most these chapters after Melanie Martinez and Stromae songs)

Fu rubbed his temples, pacing back and forth in the living space of his home as Wayzz watched worriedly from the windowsill. Rain pattered violently on the windows, conflicting with the swarm of thoughts swimming through Fu’s mind.

 

“Master, you know as well as I that if I release these next Miraculi, it is almost a definite chance that it will backfire on us,” Wayzz reasoned in between his master’s mumbling.

 

Master Fu huffed, sending his kwami a knowing smile as he stopped walking.

 

“You said the same thing when I gave the Ladybug miraculous to Marinette.”

 

Wayzz crossed his arms in irritation. “That was pure luck that she turned out to be a quick learner. No pun intended. And I, of course, applaud you on your hindsight; it truly was a good decision on your part. But our heroes are in need of capable hands now that the girl that impersonated Volpina is so full of hatred, and Hawkmoth is too, too close to discovering their identities. We cannot give the _enemy_ our most formidable weapon. We must-”

 

“I know, Wayzz. But what better way to get rid of the enemy by befriending them? And with the help of Adrien, we’ve retrieved the missing Paon Miraculous, so along with with the fox miraculous and the Abeille Miraculous, we’ll have three heroes to help keep Hawkmoth in check,” Fu explained. He turned to his kwami with a small smile, and Wayzz signed in resignation, knowing that in the end, his effort was fruitless.

 

“All right, master. I will trust your wisdom. You have proven more than once to make the right decision in my indecision, after.  Agree to disagree, as the humans say.”

 

Fu chuckled and held his hand out, beckoning his kwami to come near. Wayzz floated towards him and place his small hand in Fu’s, reassuring the old man. Fu sighed, and Wayzz worried that the strain of this new villain would be too much on his master. After all, he and Fu had been through so much for so long; time would soon come to claim him. Wayzz pushed the thought away, completely determined to focus on the problem at hand, instead of the inevitable. _“Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely,”_ so said the Enlightened one after all.

 

Fu stroked the kwami’s head, pulling them out of their train of thought. He removed his hand from underneath Wayzz and headed for the door, grabbing the black umbrella he conveniently placed at the entrance of his home.

 

“Alright, Wayzz. Let’s see if I haven’t lost my touch in choosing yet,” he said with finality. Wayzz smiled and nodded.

 

“Alright, master. And I’m confident that we will have at least some form of success with this mission.

 

Fu winked at his kwami and smiled warmly, opening his umbrella with a flourish.

 

“Expect nothing but success, my good friend. Especially today. After all, rainy days have always been a good omen for choosing, yes? Now let’s get the first Miraculous holder chosen before the heavens find another reason to weep.”

 

✶

 

Lila sat in her room, tears rolling down her cheeks once again. She hated it. She hated herself. An attention-seeking, worthless, garbage pathological liar who no one ever really loved. At least, that’s what she told herself over and over in the small corner of her room, where she had secluded herself after the events of the previous day. Memories flashed through her mind in a dizzying blur, all painfully colored red and black.

 

_Ladybug._

 

The name made her stomach swirl with nausea, and she dared not to say the name out loud. The last time she did, she spat it out, and immediately felt the cloud that normally haunted her in the wee hours of the night clasp onto her, digging its nails of fear and loathing deep into her skin.

 

“You ruined everything.” She whispered under her breath, unsure of who exactly she was talking to anymore. Her hatred for Ladybug had not dissipated, but as usual after every single misfortune in her life, she blamed the course of events on herself. She really made a fool of herself in front of Adrien. Why did she pine after him so quickly? Why was she so concerned with what other people told her. She desperately wanted to stop caring, to stop _feeling,_ and yet the numbness did not come. It was just one of those days where she was forced to feel the entirety of her pain, with no relief. She wiped away her tears, sighing. Soon, the ache in her chest was all that remained of her breakdown.

 

“Ugh, my head.” She groaned as she stood up. Something caught in her hair as she tried to fix the mess she’d made of it, and with an irritated huff, she yanked it out of her hair to discover it was her necklace. She thumbed the fox tail in her palm, the sleek metal cool to the touch. Staring at the piece of jewelry spurred something in her that she hadn’t felt in a while: regret. She really felt no remorse for the lies she told when her parents put her into yet another school. She honestly didn’t care at this point in her life; she never stayed long enough for anyone to truly get to know her anyways. And yet… Lila wished she had done things differently this time around. Maybe she should have just told everyone the truth, living with the fact that not everyone was going to have a good opinion of her, or even know that she existed. But who was Lila? What was the truth? She had twisted it too many times to pick apart fact from fiction. Lila just couldn’t fight the urge to make sure that everyone saw her as an amazing person without flaw. But she was far from perfect, that was one thing she knew without a doubt.

 

Clutching the necklace in hand, she walked across her room, ignoring the dull white walls she had no plan of decorating as she walked out. Her parents had moved to a decent apartment complex near the school she went to now, managing to snag one in the upper levels of the building. Twelve floors of what people called home, and Lila had never felt so out of place. Making her way through the hallway and into the living, she saw her parents asleep next to each other on the small couch that they had always kept as long as Lila remembered, probably exhausted after a full day’s work. She saw her father twitch, and snuggle ever so slightly closer to her other father, as if holding him closer would banish any nightmare he was having. Her heart ached, and the fear of ending up alone without someone to love her as deeply as that hit her again. She gulped, tightening her grasp on the necklace and strode out the front door.

 

Two minutes later, Lila found herself shivering near the edge of the roof of her building, arms crossed and teeth clenched as the rain continued to pour. She cursed herself for not preparing for this, not even checking out her window to see if it was raining. But she didn’t want to leave. Lila opened her mouth as her teeth involuntarily chattered, watching as the raindrops hit the fox tail charm with minuscule splashes. She leaned over the edge, watching the surreal sight of the sheets of rain falling to the street. She stuck her hand out, opened her clenched fingers, and watched the necklace make its descent to the pavement. Her foot suddenly was on the edge of the building, and thoughts of joining the necklace on its journey taunted her.

 

“My, my, young lady, are you trying to catch a cold?”

 

Lila whipped around, eyes wide in fear to find a short old man giving her a tender smile, a large black umbrella hanging over him. Strangely, however, he didn’t seem to have any other protection from the elements. He simply wore a red Hawaiian shirt and khakis. He held a coffee mug in his other hand, steam visible from underneath the umbrella’s protection from the rain.

 

“Uh, no, I was-I just-I didn’t expect it t-to rain.” She stuttered, the cold adding to the tension and stiffness of her mouth. Moving her mouth after clenching it so tightly made her feel sore, and she sighed shakily.

 

“Well, we all find ourselves in situations we had not expected. Here,” The old man said, handing her the the mug. “Come under my umbrella, take this, and tell me what is wrong.”

 

Lila hesitated, realizing her hand was already reaching out to grab the mug and her feet had already carried her closer to the man. She knew she should have been suspicious or at least cautious about this man’s intentions. But his presence was a comforting one, and the temptation of the large umbrella’s covering and a warming drink got the best of her. She quickly walked over to him, hunching under the umbrella to avoid hitting her head, and took the mug with both hands, giving the man a gracious smile before she took a sip. Lila closed her eyes, waiting for the liquid to meet her lips, and opened them in surprise as the taste of rich chocolate shrouded her tongue. It was really good, too.

 

“Oh, wow.” She said, lowering the mug and wiping her mouth with her arm. “This is really good.”

 

“It is a special mixture specifically made at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, just half a block from here, in case you wanted to get some more another time.” He informed her with a pleasant smile. “But first things first; what’s troubling you, young one?”

 

Lila sighed, her body relaxing as the warmth of the hot chocolate finally started to spread throughout her body. She pursed her lips together as she tried to string together an explanation of some kind to give to this man without making herself burst into tears.

 

“Uh, I messed up. Really bad.” She said bluntly. Good way to start.

 

“I lied about a lot of stuff I did at this new school my parents transferred me to. It’s something I do often, because I’m a horrible person with no limits or self-control. I just can’t help but try and convince everyone that I’m something completely different than what I am. I’m too scared to show them who I really am, because quite frankly, I’m not even sure who I really am. And then,” Lila continued, her voice raising slightly as she was sucked into the heat of her confession. “I tried to date someone. I really wanted them to like me, so I convinced them that I knew… one of Paris’ superheros.” She said hastily, avoiding having to say the name that caused her too much of a headache. The man nodded, urging her to continue.

 

“Well, that backfired on me. That hero flatly outed me to him, and now he probably believes that I’m the worst person in the world. And then I got akumatized, and it’s just too big of a mess to clean up.” She finished. Her shoulders slumped as she held the mug to her chest, cradling the only source of warmth she had for comfort.

 

“I just wish I could fix it. All of it. I really do wish I had just told the truth in the first place, but I didn’t. So now I’m stuck with a problem that I’ll probably never resolve. And a wound that hurts too much to heal.” She said quietly, staring at her fingers as she traced the logo on the side of the cup.

 

“You will find a way, young one. The universe is fickle in who it chooses to live an unburdened life. But it does take pity on those that have too many burdens to bear.” The old man said softly, and lightly placed his hand on her shoulder. She lifted his gaze to meet his, and expected to see pity in his eyes. But she saw something else, something unfamiliar, and yet something that she yearned to have herself. Was it joy? No, maybe sympathy. No, that word just didn’t seem to match what he held in those smiling eyes of his. The only word that Lila knew would perfectly describe what he seemed to be trying to give her through his comforting gaze; hope.

 

“You are worth giving a second chance, child.” He said finally. “Do not forget that.”

 

He removed his hand and held out the umbrella with a smile, and she took it with a surprise, unknowing of what else to do. He walked past her, towards the edge of the building without another word.

 

Lila sputtered in confusion, whipping around with umbrella and mug in hand.

 

“Wait, it’s still raining and where are you go-?” She said frantically, but stopped short to find that the old man was gone.

 

Lila was back in her room, sitting on her bed with a blank expression on her face. She was numb again, unsure of what to think of what she had just experienced. She would have considered the meeting with the old man an illusion, a result of dissociation if it weren’t for the now empty mug in her hand and the wet umbrella she had left at her front door. What exactly was it all supposed to even mean?

 

And then she suddenly noticed, in the corner of her eye, a small object sitting at the edge of her desk. She snapped out of her trance, reality piercing in its return as her gaze focused on the object. She stood up abruptly, suddenly feeling as if adrenaline was flooding her veins a million miles per second. She sprinted to the desk and swiped the object off of the desk, feeling its smooth exterior in curiosity. It had black and red designs, and yet it did not disturb her. No, its presence invigorated her in a way that could only be compared to be given a purpose, even if she wasn’t quite aware of it yet.

 

Her forefinger traced along the face of what she believed to be a box, and she felt a groove. She drew in a sharp breath, and slowly opened the case.

 

A burst of light blinded her, the only thing she could catch before squeezing her eyes shut and dropping the box in alarm was her room glowing as if a sunset had leaked into her room. The light faded in an instant, and she opened her eyes in a panic, trying to blink out the blotches in her vision. Lila gasped as she found herself inches away from a little floating being, colored orange and adorned with animal-like characteristics. It opened its eyes and blinked rapidly, as if trying to adjust to the change in brightness itself. It locked eyes with Lila, and cocked its head to the side. It smiled in awe at her as she remained completely paralyzed.

 

“Oh my. You’re a lovely one, aren’t you?” It cooed. It’s voice was soft and feminine, smooth in its diction and pleasant to the ear. It giggled as it realized Lila wasn’t going to react.

 

“Ah, yes. This must all be strange to you, yes? Well, my name is Pygmy. I am what you would call a Kwami, and if you need a comparison;” It said with a smirk, “Think of me as a unique kind of fairy. I power the fox Miraculous which has been bestowed upon you,” Pygmy trailed off, searching around for a second before stopping to look at the case on the floor. Pygmy laughed lightly.

 

“And which you have dropped on the ground.”

 

Lila watched as it gracefully floated down, to pick a certain object from the discarded box. It glinted in the slight light shining in her room, and Lila realized it was a necklace with a fox tail on it, only much more detailed and extravagant than her old necklace. Her breath hitched as the kwami floated above her, and Lila felt the cool metal drape over her skin.

 

“This is a gift, my chosen. You have been presented with powers beyond belief, and I expect you to be a quick learner about it; us foxes have to be clever to survive, after all.”

 

“Foxes. I’m a fox superhero?” Lila asked, her voice strange and foreign in the atmosphere of her room. Pygmy giggled.

 

“Ah, she speaks! Yes, you will be a fox. I grant you the power of cunning, and with that power you are able to summon an illusion that will perfectly aleve or distract the problem at hand. You will be granted the power of speed, achieve heightened sense, and your weapon is-”

 

“A flute?” Lila asked flatly. Pygmy cocked her head and laughed.

 

“What? No, no, no, it’s nothing like that. No, your weapon will be a fan. This will allow you temporary floatation as you jump, and you can give yourself a boost in speed with it. Plus, it can double as a boomerang and a ninja star, with its wooden frame spiked and sturdy. Practical and sensible.” The kwami finished. Lila touched the necklace in awe, surprised to find that the fox tail felt of real fur.

 

“Amazing. And I was really chosen for this? All of this?” She asked in wonder. Pygmy nodded.

 

“Yes. All of it. Now, may I learn your name, my lovely chosen?”

 

Lila scoffed, picking up that she would have to watch this kwami’s sweet words and what she used them for. Though a little adulation here and there certainly did make her feel good. She sighed wearily, and gave the kwami a resigned smile.

 

“Lila. My name is Lila.”

 

Pygmy smiled widely. “Lila. Lovely Lila. Well, my lovely Lila, to activate the transformation, all you have to do is wear the necklace-oh, and I should mention now that you must wear it at all times to have complete access to your power-and shout, ‘Pygmy, transforme moi!’ Got it?”

 

Lila nodded slowly, but realized that Pygmy’s expectant stare meant that she wanted her to try it then.

 

“Uh, can I wait until tomorrow to try? I have had a little bit of what you would call a ‘rough’ day, and I think it’d be wise to learn more about this new power of mine before I jump into the job.”

 

Pygmy smiled kindly at her chosen and floated towards her. Lila held her hand out, and Pygmy gladly sat in her palm.

 

“Alright, my Lila. And what would you like to be named as a hero?”

 

That one was simple enough. French was not her first language, but since Italian’s word for fox could be misinterpreted very easily, she would use what was convenient.

 

“Renardyne.” She finally said.

 

“Ooh, nice twist on the word, Lila. Well, lay to rest, and I will tell you all about the things to come, and what you should expect of this new development.”

  
Lila nodded her head and complied, undressing out of her soaked clothing and putting on a loose t-shirt and the warmest pair of flannel pants she had before snuggling under the cover and soaking in every word her new best friend had to say about this new course her life had taken. She had been given a second chance, she knew this. And there was no way Lila was going to ruin it for herself this time.


	2. Ta Fille, Folle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh god this took forever to write but i actually really like this chapter???? so enjoy i guess

Chloé huffed, scratching her head as she glared at the algebra worksheet ahead of her.

 

“Sabrina should have known better than to go into the rain without my sweater. But ‘nooooo, Chloé, then you’d be cold!’”

 

She growled as she slammed her pencil onto the desk, the sharp and piercing click reverberating in her ears. She stared at the worksheet once again, reading the question ahead of her over and over, desperately trying to make sense of the questions given. But her mind refused to respond, giving her no help. Chloé gritted her teeth.

 

“Well, I’d rather have a cold than deal with these stupid math problems. It already sucks as is, no need to make things even worse by adding random letters to it!” She whined angrily, and finally decided to just close the textbook and give up on working out the problems in general. Chloé groaned as her head throbbed from the intense frustration pent up inside of her found an outlet through her brain, and her head felt like it was going to explode. She closed her eyes and whimpered, rubbing her forehead in little circles in attempt to soothe her migraine. Standing up, head in hands, she walked uncertainly towards what she believed to be her bedroom door, and felt around the wall for the light switch. Her fingers were met with the protruding target, and she flicked the lights off with one swift motion. Sighing, she opened her bedroom door and was glad to find that the rest of her home seemed to be dimly lit.

 

 _“This happens everytime I try to do something for myself. I can’t read_ anything _without half of what I read looking like a word scramble, and I end up feeling like an idiot in the end! Not even Daddy cares, saying it’s something I’ll grow out of.”_ Chloé thought to herself. She scoffed and grabbed her custom designer Burberry taffeta trench coat, its hue of baby blue a soft sight to her eyes. She grabbed the clear Kate Spade umbrella she had bought a pair of for her and Sabrina, smiling ever so slightly at the little speech bubble that read “Rain Check?”. She remembered how happy Sabrina was to even be taken to Barnes & Noble for her birthday, and though Chloé didn’t want to spoil her(she only did allow her to buy $300 dollars worth of books to make sure of that), she had taken a fancy to the surprisingly chic umbrellas that were on sale at the register when they were about to pay. Chloé sighed fondly, tucking the umbrella under her arm and leaving her home to head down to the lobby.

 

Chloé whipped out her phone and began to text Sabrina as she walked towards the elevator, making sure her texts didn’t sound too concerned, but sounded concerned enough that Sabrina would actually reply. It was always like this, now. She pressed the button on the wall pointing down, and pursed her lips, mulling over the very thing that she thought about everyday once again. Chloé had acted in such a distant way ever since she was placed in public school, a stunt pulled by her father during his first campaign for mayor of Paris. She was eleven, and had only known Adrien as her friend. Her demeanor was not vastly different than it was now, except that she was more playfully rude than anything, making sure she was not petty in her insults, and that she knew her limits. But then she was thrown into the unknown, and she had been so terrified of having to be put in a new environment, too used to the sheltered and isolated comfort of their apartment, that she had refused to make any social interactions during her first year. Chloé warded off the kids as much as possible, terrified by the possibility that if she showed any weakness, and fear, that these other kids would deem her unfit to be around. So she would place herself on a pedestal, to turn the tables. Sure, it meant stepping on others to place herself so high, but she could not face the struggle of feeling unworthy, unfit. She knew everyone would hate her, but at least it was on her own terms now. At least they had a reason.

 

Sometimes Chloé thought about what life would be like if she had just had a little bit more confidence in herself when she was put into public school.  She could pinpoint every single time she had spurned every single one of her classmates, and she just felt worse and worse about herself as she thought about it. If there was a way to make it up to everyone she had wronged, she would probably try to make things right. But there wasn’t. So she wasn’t going to think about it.

 

The elevator dinged, the doors opening to reveal a lonely old man in the elevator, wearing a sleek Chinese Mao jacket, Chloé noted, that had the more modern look. However, it appeared that this old man had his jacket custom made to look like a Hawaiian shirt. It was all red, with on single pattern of the tropical flowers splashed across his chest. Chloé raised her eyebrows, but her head pounded once, reminding her of the pain she had forgotten, and she stepped into the elevator without a word. She hated to admit it, seeing as how this man didn’t seem to _look_ rich or of any title, but the idea was unique and even clever. The man appeared to be holding a map of some sorts, and as Chloé retreated to the other corner of the elevator, focus mainly on her phone, he could hear the man muttering angrily.

 

“Ach, it is this hotel after all!” He said quietly to himself. He frowned at the map, and suddenly began to glare at it. “Don’t look at me like that just because I couldn’t tell, every damn hotel in this damned city is spelled with fancy accents and squiggles in their names. They all look the same to me!”

 

Chloé giggled at the sight of this man apparently arguing with his map, and her breath hitched as she cut the noise short. She slapped her hand over her mouth, and a rush of anxiety made her blood run cold.

 

_“What the heck? Why’d you laugh?! Now this small Chinese man is going to probably murder you!”_

 

The old man seemed to have been successfully snapped out of his intense calligraphy, and Chloé could feel the faux confidence she was usually able to muster around her classmates crumble underneath this man’s gaze. It was hard to tell what exact expression he was wearing, but she was surprised to find that there didn’t seemed to be any traces of anger in it at all. He didn’t look the slightest bit irritated, actually. The old man just looked more surprised than anything.

 

And then he laughed. It was a short, abrupt sound, filled with relief, and Chloé was almost tempted to relax her tense posture. Almost. She remained frozen, staring at the man with wide eyes, like a deer caught in headlights. The old man simply gave her a warm smile.

 

“I apologize for my strange behavior. I’d been looking for this hotel all over, but it seems that there are quite a few world renowned hotels in the capital of France. What might your name be, young one?”

 

“Uh, C-Chloé. Chloé Bourgeois.” She said meekly, extending her hand out without thinking.

 

_“What the heck??? Now you’re being weirdly polite?!?!?! No one asked to shake your hand, Bourgeois, put it down before he thinks you’re weird!”_

 

“Bourgeois? Oh, you must be the daughter of the mayor, yes? Well, pleased to meet you." He said, grabbing her hand and giving it a firm shake. He released it and Chloé tried to pull it back as politely as she could without seeming like she was recoiling.

 

"What’s spurred you to go out on this dreary rainy day, young lady?” The man asked her.

 

Chloé shrugged, subconsciously relaxing into the comfortable air this man brought with him. “My friend is sick, and she’s usually kind enough to help me with my homework, so I decided to check up on her and see if I could help.” She explained, and Chloé found herself surprised at the honesty in her answer. She hadn’t even planned on doing it for that reason, but she guessed that deep down, she really did want to check up on Sabrina and see if she was alright.

 

“My, what a kind young lady. And studious at that, as well. You would think the opposite for one who is born into riches and fame, yes?” The old man joked, and Chloé smiled weakly in reply.

 

“More often than not, yeah.” Chloé answered. The old man looked surprised at her statement, eyebrows raised in what she almost believed was concern.

 

“Oh? I do not mean to pry, Ms. Bourgeois, but would you care to explain what that answer might imply?”

 

Chloé huffed, unsure of how she even got into this situation in the first place. Why was this man so concerned about her well-being? Why did it seem like he genuinely cared? And why, of all things, did she feel so desperate to tell him everything?

 

“I-I,” Chloé stammered, and she drew in a sharp breath, closing her eyes slowly to avoid developing another headache. She could just say it out loud, right here and now. This man was a stranger, so reasonably, that would not be a wise choice. But he was someone willing to listen. Would he find her sob story one that made sense? Or would he write her off as a jerk, just like everyone else.

 

There was only one way for Chloé to find out.

 

“I’m not exactly the nicest to people at my school. I-I’ve convinced everyone that I’m this heartless bully who believes that I think they’re better than them, when in reality, I think everyone is better than me. I’m a horrible person, but not in the way that people think! I-I’m attention-seeking, and I need constant reassurance that I’m worth something, and yeah, I sometimes pretend like I’m the best thing in the world, but I only pretend I’m the best because I feel like I’m the worst. I-I really wish I was a better person, but I don’t even know if I was ever a good person to start with. All I’ve known is that I’m this cowardly loser that tries to drown out this constant voice in my head saying, ‘You were never worth being friends with in the first place. You don’t even deserve Sabrina, or your father, or anything you’ve been given.’ I-” Chloé paused, her breath becoming short as tears filled her eyes, and her throat felt like it was going to close up.

 

“I just want a reason to live. To keep going. I want just the tiniest bit of hope that I can be a good person again.” She whispered out loud, and she swallowed a sob, pulling out a silk handkerchief to shakily dab her eyes. Chloé feared she had said too much, that this man was probably disgusted with her, but he nodded in understanding, and relief washed over Chloé like most pleasant waves to have ever crashed on shore.

 

“Do you know where your heart is located, Chloé?” The man asked. Chloé was taken aback, but she nodded her head, listening to every word this man had to say like a lost little girl.

 

“Put your hand the spot where your heart is, child.” He said, and Chloé complied, slowly lifting her hand and putting it on her chest. There was a silence, and Chloé felt the slight thumps of her heartbeat steadily drum underneath her fingers.

 

“The heart is one of the most vital parts of your body, and its sole purpose is to make sure you stay alive. It will fight to keep you alive as long as it is able, because you have a purpose, Chloé. You may not think you are deserving of it, but all along, a part of you has believed you have a reason to live. Trust your heart, Chloé. You will find a way to make things right.”

 

Chloé stared at the man in awe, and she barely was able to register the ding of the elevator as she digested this man’s wise words, his wisdom echoing into the depths of her mind and spreading throughout her entire body. Determination sparked, and flickered to life, and Chloé smiled at the man, this time without any bit of mockery in her grin.

 

“Thank you. Thank you so much! I won’t forget what you said, mister. I’ll make sure to tell my daddy about you, and I’ll see that you are rewarded for your kindness!” She said, and waved goodbye to the old man, who was just shaking his head and chuckling as he waved goodbye. Chloé ran into the lobby, hope aflame in her for the first time in ages, and she felt like shouting in joy. The old man-

 

Chloé skidded to a stop. The old man didn’t tell her his name. How was he going to tell anyone about him if she didn’t even know who he was?

 

“Wait, mister, I-” She said, whipping around and sprinting back to the elevator, but the doors were too close together to stop from closing, and all Chloé could do was watch the old man’s face break into a tender smile as the doors shut completely, and he was gone.

 

Chloé pressed the up button to the elevator, and whipped out her phone to text Sabrina some half baked excuse before she chased after the old man.

 

**> sabrina im gonna be late i forgot something at the house **

**> and these stupid elevators are taking FOREVER to get down here holy CRAP**

**> Promise i’ll come as quickly as possible tho, okay?**

 

Sabrina’s reply was almost immediate, and Chloé realized that her facade of keeping herself from sounding too concerned had just been broken. She read the texts hastily, suddenly anxious to see what consequences her actions rendered.

 

 _ >Omg Chloe you’re okay!!! I’m not going anywhere I’m sick in bed silly:P but tysm for being so fussy, but really, just do what you got to do, okay? And bring your homework, I won’t leave you hanging; you’re too much of an awesome person to do that to! Ly _ _❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤_

 

Chloe blushed involuntarily, and as the elevator doors opened, she rushed to press the button to the top floor, pushing her confusing feelings aside, even though she was unknowing of where to start her search first. She tapped her foot impatiently as she watched the floor counter slowly make its way to the top, and she sighed in relief when it reached her floor. She rushed inside of her house instinctively, and was already in her room before she realized that there was no chance the old man was going to be in here. She groaned, flopping onto her plush bed in defeat. Chloé knew that the old man must be in some other room by now, and she was not about to knock on every single door in this building to look for him. She raised her head to reply to Sabrina finally, but saw a little black box in front of her that she hadn’t noticed before. It had strange designs on it in black in red, and though they looked foreign to her she was intrigued.

 

Without thinking, Chloé snatched it into her hands, wondering if it was maybe another gift from her father. She wouldn’t put it above him; he loved spoiling her at any given time, which, she realized, probably wasn’t going to make her changing any easier if he kept it up.

 

She sighed and opened the case, and suddenly her room was encased in pure light, and Chloé screamed in surprise, dropping the case and scooting away blindly. It was as if the actual sun was in her room, and Chloé was on the brink of a panic attack until the light suddenly faded away, and Chloé remained frozen, eyes closed and arms in front of her face in defense. She slowly opened one eye, peering in between her arms, and dropped them in an instant, a dramatic gasp slipping from her mouth before she could stop it.

 

A fairy-like creature that looked like it was wearing a bee suit was bobbing in front of her with a sour look on its face. Before Chloé could say anything, the creature flew right up into face with the scowl it held.

 

“Ugh, I hope you’re worth it, chosen one.” They said in irritation. With a sigh and roll of the eyes, they held their hand out to Chloé.

 

“The name’s Folle, and I’m your kwami now, or whatever. You’re a new superhero now, I guess, and I give you the power to to do the impossible. You get one shot to break the laws of reality to help out your partners. Your weapon’s gonna be a blowgun that shoots darts, but it’s made of this special material that’s kind of like cloth, so you can unravel it and form a whip with it as well.” Folle said, staring at her hand’s front and back as if she had an imaginary pedicure. “Oh, and you can fly, too. Just gotta find your-Oh, there it is.”

 

The kwami zipped down and picked up the object that was apparently inside of the case: a hair comb. Chloé took it gingerly, placing it into her hair. They slid into the base of her ponytail as if they were made to fit, and the biggest revelation finally hit her.

 

“I get to fight with Ladybug?” Chloé shouted, completely ecstatic after finally being able to process what was happening. She was being chosen to be a protector of Paris alongside the person she idolized. She was going to fight evil with the very person she thrived and yearned to be. She was being given a second chance.

 

“Je-Shut up, weirdo!” The kwami said in a panic, rushing to a hysterically giddy Chloé and muffling her mouth with her surprisingly strong hands.

 

“Ugh, you can’t tell anyone about this, okay? Like, _no one_. Not a single soul can know about you being….uh, whatever you choose your superhero name to be. Alright-? Ugh, you haven’t even told me your name yet. You’re such a ditz.”

 

“Chloé! It’s, uh, Chloé.” Chloé said hastily. A smile perked at her lips, and she looked up at the ceiling pensively.

 

“Um, how about I call myself…..Um, Bee-yotch.”

 

The kwami stared at her with wide eyes, and then burst into a fit of laughter, which Chloé joined into graciously.

 

“Oh my god, you’re such a weirdo. But you know, I think you and I will get along just fine. I just hope you’re not like this in public; I don’t think I could live with the embarrassment of my chosen being such a nerd.”

 

“Oh, I’m not, I promise.” Chloé said knowingly, and she returned to the matter of choosing her superhero name.

 

“Well, maybe I could just call myself Queen Bee?” Chloé said, unsure of herself as she suggested this to her kwami. The kwami smiled and rolled her eyes.

 

“You wouldn’t be the first, kid. And uh, can we do the whole ‘Transforme moi!’ thing tomorrow? I need my beauty sleep if I want to keep looking this good.” The kwami said with a confidence Chloé envied.

 

Chloé deflated, disappointed that she was unable to test out her powers right away. But the last thing she wanted to do was anger the very being that was supposed to gift her with her powers. She began to nod her head, but suddenly froze.

 

“Wait-Sabrina! I need to meet up with my friend right now-!”

 

“Fine, fine, just put me in your purse. And it better be Gucci. The lowest I will settle for is a Coach bag, but I prefer Gucci.”

 

Chloé scoffed, waving her off. “As if I would have anything else.”

 

The kwami raised her eyebrows and smiled warmly at Chloé for the first time since they’d met.

 

“Oh, you and I are gonna get along just fine.”

 

Chloé smiled and grabbed her purse, opening it and watching her kwami zip inside with satisfaction. She practically skipped out of her house, filled with a new sense of purpose. A duty to protect Paris meant a way to make up for all the wrong she had done. And she was determined to make up for every single one of her mistakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why Chloe???? because i love her and i love how much she is trash she is my trash queen and i love her so so much don't look at me
> 
> Update 4.3.16: I changed the part about what the Miraculous is because like the idiot I am I forgot the bee miraculous was a fucking comb so yeah


	3. Leafy Branch Horse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i love Alya so much

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you haven't noticed, a lot of my headcanons about each of these characters has been really leaking into this fic, so if i don't get around to putting them in the tags, go ahead and ask me in the comments; i'll confirm whether or not its what you think!

It was 3 in the morning. Most people would be sound asleep at this time, deep into their slumber and probably enjoying a nice dream about their significant other, or maybe about a surreal adventure. Most _normal_ people would not be wide awake, with the full energy of a toddler.

 

Alya was not most people.

 

Alya had snuck out of her bedroom to find the source of commotion outside of her home. She could have sworn she had seen green light flashing outside of her window, and no matter the day, place, or hour, she would not miss out on a superhero scoop. Holding her cellphone and wearing only a tank top and gym shorts, she turned on her camera and set it to video,wanting to record her adventure in hopes of catching anything pertaining to her two favorite superheroes. She put on her mother’s sandals, grabbed an old sweater her father let her have, and sprinted out of her house, glancing around as the sound of her sandals slapping against the concrete echoed in the night. She ran past the alleyway in the middle of her block, catching the faintest traces of scuffling as she passed by. She halted abruptly and spun around on her heel, adjusting her glasses and peering into the alleyway to see a mysterious figure grabbing their foot, probably in pain.

 

“Ooh, okay. It seems that there is possibly what could be another akuma attack about to happen, or someone’s about to be akumatized. Either are very possible.” Alya whispered to her phone as she held it up to record the encounter. The strange figure bent down to pick something up, muttering angrily, and threw an article of clothing onto their shoulder before beginning to approach the end of the alleyway. Alya fumbled with her phone and flattened herself against the wall, hoping the figure wouldn’t see her as they left. She shut her eyes and cursed under her breath, clutching  her phone to her chest.

 

“Miss, don’t you think it’s a bit early to be sneaking around?”

 

Alya yelped and jumped, eyes shooting open to find a strange old man smiling at her. She pressed herself against the wall as much as she could, as if she tried hard enough, she could sink behind it. The man appeared rather scruffy, wearing a battered fishing hat, a messy Hawaiin shirt, and faded khakis. He yawned and shivered, rubbing his arms.

 

“You should head home, young lady. It’s quite chilly this early in the morning, and you’re all alone in the world when everything sleeps. I would offer to walk you to make sure you get home safe, but I, uh, have other pressing matters to attend to.” He said, shivering again before waving at a paralyzed Alya. He was about to walk away when Alya’s sense finally came back to her, and she realized the man was probably going to be cold the rest of the night. She decided to be sympathetic and grabbed the man’s shoulder.

 

“H-hold on! It just rained yesterday, and I can’t just let you go into another stormy day with a clear conscience. Here,” Alya said, taking off the old sweater and wrapping it around the old man’s shoulders. She tapped the stop button on her phone, and stuffed it in her pocket, making a mental note to delete the video later. So no akuma, but she still got to help this man out.

 

“Why, thank you! It seems that luck has smiled my way through your kindness. Er, may I ask your name, young lady?”

 

Alya smiled, crossing her arms. “Alya. Alya Cesaire.” She said gladly, comfortable in this man’s presence. She rubbed the back of her neck, embarrassed at the circumstances at how this situation occurred.

 

“And um, it wasn’t really luck as much as it was a reporter’s curiosity.” She said sheepishly. “I run this blog for Ladybug and I, uh, thought you were an akuma.”

 

The old man laughed heartily. “Oh, I promise I’m anything but, young one. You said you ran a blog for Ladybug? Would it happen to be this Ladyblog that many children whisper about as they leave school?”

 

Alya’s eyes lit up, and the mention of others talking about her blog made her swell with pride.

 

“Why yes, it is! Number one source for all things Ladybug and Chat Noir!”

 

The old man nodded his head slowly. “Ahh, so I assume it is also the number one source of all theories about who Ladybug and Chat Noir are behind the mask?”

 

Alya shrugged. “Maybe not number one, but it’s definitely something I intend on discovering.”

 

“And why is that? Why is it so important you learn who they are?”

 

Alya opened her mouth to respond, but froze, her mind drawing a blank. Why…. _did_ she want to discover their identities so badly? Of course, she would know who they were as civilians, but was there actually any reward to that? Maybe she just wanted to know if she knew them in real life, but now that she thought about it, it could potentially endanger all those they knew. Ladybug and Chat Noir just didn’t want anyone getting hurt; and Alya kept risking their lives every time she came close to discovering who they were.

 

Alya blinked, taken aback by the weight of information that she had just realized. She heard the old man hum, almost in amusement.

 

“There’s no harm in loving those who keep you safe. But keeping people safe sometimes means keeping secrets from them, as well. Good people make sacrifices all the time, Alya, just as you sacrificed your source of warmth to make sure I had one of my own. You are a good person, but it is common to be misled.”

 

“I didn’t-I never intended to put people in danger. How could I have not seen this before?” Alya said, completely perplexed at the strange set of circumstances it had taken in order for her to finally see the error of her ways. She looked at the old man suspiciously, now a bit wary of why his presence seemed to have suddenly made things so clear.

 

The man just shrugged. “Sometimes it takes the strangest of things to teach us the most vital lessons of all.”

 

Alya cupped her face, uncaring of the fact that she was now on the brink of a meltdown in front of a total, probably homeless, stranger.

 

“I feel like I have a duty to Paris myself, sharing all I know about Ladybug and Chat Noir. Do you think that’s stupid? Because right now, it’s sounding really stupid.”

 

“Oh, not at all, Miss Cesaire. Actually, I find that to be completely appropriate.” He said with a knowing smile that Alya did not catch. Alya simply smiled, looking towards home sorrowfully.

 

“Do not worry, Alya. Empathy is the way you are inspired to help, but sympathy is the only way you can truly understand another’s troubles. You are a greater help to Ladybug than you are a nuisance. You just require a little more restraint to what you put out there for the world to see; after all, their identities are secret for a reason. But that does not mean you cannot help.”

 

“How can I help them after creating such a huge, and really popular, problem?” Alya asked quizzically. Fu smiled and waved her off, turning away from her.

 

“You will find a way, Alya. Trust in yourself.” He said aloud as he strolled away. Alya watched as he continued his way down her street, turned the corner, and disappeared.

 

Alya shook her head, walking back home in a daze. The man said she would find a way to help. Now, according to every single superhero comic book, movie, and book she has ever gotten her hands on, cryptic encounters with strange old people giving you advice on the future meant there was a 75% chance of turning into a superhero. Alya’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. But why would she be chosen to be a superhero? She had been basically endangering Paris’s most adored heros this entire time she thought she was helping; there was no way she was superhero material.

 

….Right?

 

Alya rushed into her house, closing the door as quietly as she could before throwing off her mother’s sandals and sprinting towards her room. Her heart beat faster, her gut feeling filling her with adrenaline and excitement, and she swung her room door open, abandoning her attempts to be silent in her work. She flicked on her lights and gasped, her hands flying to her mouth in shock.

 

On the floor in front of her was a small red-and-black box, which had a note left on top of it. Her name was scrawled on the top, as if the person who left it there was in a mad rush to finish it. She bent down and picked it up, reading it to herself.

 

_“Do not wear it anywhere someone can see. It is recognizable to a potential enemy, and you must remain vigilant. Good luck, Alya.”_

 

She set the note down and opened the box, only to be met with a blinding light. Alya dropped the box and squeaked, flailing aimlessly for her door. The light faded, and she did her best to shut the door quietly before turning around again, only to be met with an even stranger sight.

 

“U-Uh, hello!” A strange creature said to her nervously. It looked like a cutesy fairy, but adorned with peacock feathers. “My name is Youya, and I’m your kwami!”

 

Alya scooted back, pressing herself against her bedroom door in a panic.

 

_“Holy crap. Is this actually happening? Is this even real life????”_

 

Alya whimpered. She had always dreamed of being a superhero for as long as she remembered. She remembered her mother’s groans as she would rewatch her favorite superhero movie of the week over and over, how her room used to be covered in Marvel and DC hero posters, and the fact that she would plan what hero graphic-tee she would wear every single day of the week. But as she got into middle school, she soon found that everyone expected her to make friends and “grow out” of her obsession with heroes. But there was no growing out of it. She was never any good at socializing either, so middle school was kind of a dark time. Friends would scold her for not taking them into consideration as she preferred to watch The Avengers over going to their parties. Teachers kept telling her parents that they should get her checked by a doctor, that her obsession was unhealthy, that she wasn’t “normal”. But what did normality ever do for heroes? She was content with her supposed strange behavior. It was who she was; and it was a similarity to the very heroes she cherished. But her parent’s weren’t able to ignore this as easily as she was able to. They took her to the doctor, and they suggested taking her to a psychiatrist, who said she was on the autism spectrum. Then the psychiatrist suggested taking her to a behavioral analyst, who suggested taking her to a behavioral _therapist,_ and though her interest in heroes never faltered, she was able to be out of her old “special ed” school before her 9th grade year.

 

Alya was afraid at first. She didn’t want to be “molded”, like her teachers would say; it reminded her too much of the way villains would brainwash their villains to do their bidding. But Ms. Lo, her therapist, had explained to her straight out: “I’m not going to change who you are, I’m going to teach you how to _cope_ in a world that says you must change who you are.”

 

Alya took three deep breaths, closing her eyes and focusing on her movements. This was one thing her therapist had taught her that was especially useful. She used to be so susceptible to anxiety attacks, but she rarely ever had one anymore. Finally opening her eyes, she faced an extremely concerned Youya.

 

“O-oh, I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t overwhelm you! I just-”

 

“You’re fine. I’m fine.” Alya said, interrupting her kwami. Her fear was immediately replaced with her characteristic curiosity, and Alya crossed her legs as she stared at her kwami, analyzing every feature.

 

“Oh, thank goodness. The last thing we need is an unconscious hero, right, er-What is your name, again?”

 

“I never said my name. It’s Alya, though.” Alya offered politely. She held out her hand, and then realized in this situation, a handshake probably wasn’t the best thing to do. However, the kwami giggled and placed their miniscule hand in hers. Alya took her forefinger and thumb to grasp it, and shook it once. The kwami then gasped, eyes wide in realization.

 

“Oh, your Miraculous! Where did-Oh, there it is!”

 

Alya looked down to find what appeared to be a peacock brooch. She gently picked it up and held it with two flat, open palms. She blinked, and then her mind seemed to register what exactly her kwami had just said.

 

“W-Wait, my Miraculous? Like, what Ladybug says every time she saves the city? Or what gives Ladybug her powers?”

 

“Uh, what gives her her powers, I think. That’s what that brooch does, at least. You will be gifted with the power of playing with fate, rewriting the purpose or destiny of anything you wish to suit your needs. Like if, uh, you needed a….horse? And there was only a…..tree next to you? Then you just shout “Changing Fate!”, and bam, you’ve got yourself a leafy, uh, branch horse.” Youya explained poorly. Alya laughed quietly and nodded her head.

 

“Alright, that sounds wicked! Do I get a weapon, too? Like how Ladybug has her yo-yo and Chat Noir has his staff?”

 

“Oh, yes! You get a quill.” Youya said cheerfully.

 

Alya stared at them blankly.

 

“....A quill.”

 

“Yes! With that quill, you create a type of ink that can become adherent! So um….” The kwami trailed off, looking around Alya’s room in hopes of finding a better example than what they were probably going to come up with. Their eyes fell on a poster of a familiar fictional superhero in action, and the kwami gasped.

 

“Like Spider-man’s webs! Except with ink.”

 

Alya’s eyes lit up. “Oh man, that’s so cool! I can’t believe this is actually happening!”

 

Alya paused and stared at Youya in complete seriousness.

 

“This _is_ actually happening, right?”

 

“Uh, yes?”

 

Alya pumped a fist. “Yes.” She whispered to herself silently. She yawned, and remembered that it was actually the middle of the night, and that she had to wake up for school in two hours. She shot up to her feet, brooch in hand, and walked over to the outfit she had prepared for herself. She opened the pocket of her favorite flannel and pinned the brooch inside, safely hidden from view.

 

“Ah, clever! You know, I’m glad you were chosen, Alya. Your curiosity and bravery will definitely be beneficial to your partners.”

 

Alya smiled, only hearing the compliment at first. "Aw, thanks! I think I'll call myself Pava for now, until I think of a better name, but-"

 

Alya stopped and looked at the kwami in surprise. “Wait, partners? You mean I really will get to work with Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

 

The kwami looked at her in slight confusion. “Well, yes, of course. But not _just_ them, if that’s what you’re asking. No, our Miraculous must be activated along with four others, but I feel a strange energy, as if the fourth Miraculous has become-”

 

“Corrupted! There is a villain named Hawkmoth that Ladybug and Chat Noir fight; could it be him?”

 

“Oh dear. Yes, it could be him. Er, Alya, it may have been a few years since I’ve had a chosen, but isn’t being awake at 4 in the morning rather detrimental to a human’s energy levels?”

 

Alya groaned, slapping her forehead. “Yeah, it is. You don’t mind if I take a quick nap before school, do you, Youya?”

 

“Oh, of course not. My chosen must be ready to face any danger at any time. Sleep is important in ensuring your preparedness.”

  
Alya smiled and patted the kwami’s head affectionately. She yawned once again and slipped under her covers, falling asleep to the sight of her kwami floating around the room looking at her posters, and with the Spider-man theme song playing over and over in her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOP we're done handing out miraculi!!! Time for an A K U M A A T T A C K
> 
> or just the first day at school with this new responsibility
> 
> *shrugs* either or will do
> 
> (also i kind of need a beta reader???? i never EVER proofread this stuff and I kind of just put it out there which is why you'll find a typ here or there but I really do think i should get on top of it so if you wanna volunteer message me on the tumblr.com @goodmoviesequel or if i know you on here but you just don't have a tumblr, leave a comment!)
> 
> Update: i also changed the chapter to add in what Alya will call herself


	4. Dream Team Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aw man, school is still a thing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short update for today because ol' yisi here forgot to make an entire paper-mache mask that's due tomorrow!!!! Yay!!!!!!

Marinette woke up to the sound of her alarm ringing. Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared at the roof of her room, trying to get her bearings as she roused from a dreamless slumber. There was a strange feeling within her, the kind of feeling she would usually get when she woke up in a friend’s house expecting to see her room, only to find another bed-headed teenager drooling in their sleep.

 

Adrien awoke with a start, clutching onto a pillow he apparently had been cuddling while he slept. He felt like something-no, not something, _everything_ about today was off. Like there was something in the air that just wasn’t there the night before.

 

 _“Something’s changed.”_ Marinette and Adrien thought in unison.

 

“Marinette? Marinette, I have to tell you something!” Tikki whispered urgently. Marinette looked at her kwami, who’s faced had “EMERGENCY” written all over it.

 

“What’s wrong, Tikki? I-I can feel it, too. But it’s weird, it doesn’t exactly feel like a bad thing. It just feels like something is...different.” She finished. Tikki smiled.

 

“Well, that’s because it is. You know how you have your Miraculous because you were chosen, and it was the same for Chat Noir?”

 

Marinette knit her eyebrows together in suspicion. “Uh, yes?”

 

“Well….I might have forgotten to mention there are four other Miraculi.” Tikki said in a small voice, avoiding eye contact with Marinette.

 

“What?! Oh my goodness, that’s incredible!” Marinette exclaimed. “What-Where are they?!”

 

Tikki shrugged helplessly, for once at a complete loss on what to tell Marinette. “I don’t know. I never do, really, but I’m sure they’re all here in Paris. Our problem with Hawkmoth must be greater than we thought.” Tikki said fearfully, and Marinette took her kwami into her hands.

 

“Hey, maybe it’s just the right amount of help Chat and I need to get rid of him once and for all.” Marinette said, petting Tikki soothingly. Marinette laughed. “You know, you’re usually the one that’s supposed to give me good advice.”

 

Tikki smiled. “Yeah, I am. Which is why I should tell you that you should really start getting ready for school.”

 

Marinette gasped and let Tikki float up as she kicked her way out of her bed.

 

“Oh, shoot!”

 

“Well, shoot.” Adrien heard Plagg say next to him. Adrien sat up and scratched his head, eyes squinting as the rising sun was just a little too bright for comfort.

 

“What? What’s wrong?” Adrien mumbled as he slowly began to make his way out of bed. He shuffled to his bathroom and turned on the faucet at his sink, cupping his hands underneath it to gather some water and splash it on his face. Adrien muttered as he fumbled around for a towel, patted his face dry, and rested his chin in his hand as he began to comb his hair.

 

“Uh, three other Miraculi have been given out. So we now have got three other heroes coming into play.” Plagg said.

 

Adrien’s elbow slipped and his face slammed onto the counter, _hard_. He snapped his head back up instantly, now completely awake and alert.

 

“I’m sorry, what?” Adrien said incredulously. Plagg rolled his eyes.

 

“There are other Miraculi, boy. You have one, Ladybug has one, Hawkmoth even has one. And now, so do three others.

 

Adrien gripped the counter and stared at Plagg in astonishment.

 

“I-I just barely gave that other peacock Miraculous to Master Fu, and he suddenly decides he’s going to choose three new heroes?! This is-I don’t-”

 

“It’s for a good reason, I’m sure. No need to get so worked up about it. Now hurry up and get ready, I’m starving!” The kwami whined, and Adrien shook his head in disbelief. Leave it up to Plagg to put his stomach before superheroes.

 

Five teenagers got ready for school with a skip in their step and a sense of adventure on the tip of their tongues. An aura that they just could not place was about them, and its mystery only inspired them to push forward into the day. They knew of the Big Change in their lives, but there was something hidden in between the lines that they had yet to see. The lycée had a warm glow to it in the mornings that welcomed all those who attended it, and on that particular morning, these five children appreciated the sight of their school just a little bit more.

 

Chloé was the first to arrive, stepping out of the limousine with a swagger in her step-well, more swagger than usual. She held her head up high, but with a genuine smile that threw off the classmates around her.

 

“Chloé seems to be in a really good mood today? I’m not the only one seeing this, right?” Rose asked her best friend in confusion. Juleka shrugged, eyes still focused on the book she was reading.

 

“I’m seeing it, but I’m not sure I believe it. She probably just got another gift from her father.” Juleka said, glancing up once at her friend, then at Chloé and then returning to her book. Rose squinted at Chloé and lit up with victory.

 

“Oh, she has a comb-thingy in her hair! That was never there before. Maybe it’s a jewel-encrusted antique her dad got her! Ooh, that would explain the good mood.”

 

“Mhm. Hey look, see, right here is where they confirm that he was the killer.” Juleka said, changing the subject.

 

Rose gasped. “Really?! Where?”

 

Chloé made her way up the steps, pushed open the front doors, and immediately hid behind the wall next to her. She opened up her bag and was met with a barely waking Folle.

 

“Ugh, school? You still have to go to that these days?” Folle whined, and Chloé rolled her eyes.

 

“I know. It’s such a waste of time. Oh, you hungry? I’m not sure if kwamis eat or anything, but I certainly can afford-”

 

“Limes. You got any limes?” Folle asked expectantly. Chloé looked at her in disbelief.

 

“Uh, not right now, but I could probably go to the cafeteria kitchen and order some right now-?”

 

“Great! It’s soooo full of health benefits, they’d be crazy not to have any limes!” Folle cooed. “It keeps my skin glowing and my body fit, so hurry up and get me a lime, Chloé!”

 

Chloé huffed and shut the bag. She wasn’t used to serving others, but Folle certainly was a special case. She made her way to the cafeteria, barely noticing Alya as she passed by her.

 

“Psst, Alya, I don’t mean to be a bother, but uh…” Youya started, and Alya started, looking down at her bag in surprise.

 

“Oh, shoot, I forgot you were in there, Youya. Hold on, lemme find someplace to hide…”

 

Alya spotted the bathroom’s and prayed no one was in there yet. She stepped inside and found all the stalls empty. She sighed in relief and opened her bag.

 

“What’s up?” She asked sweetly.

 

“Um, I’m quite hungry.” Youya muttered shyly. Alya gasped.

 

“Oh my gosh, I didn’t even think you would need to eat!” Alya said. She snapped her fingers, an idea hitting her.

 

“Oh, we have the cafeteria open, and I’m sure we can sneak inside and grab you something to eat! What would you like, mon ami?” Alya asked her kwami.

 

“Uh, maybe you could get me some chocolate? I really, really love chocolate.” Youya sighed dreamily, licking their lips. Alya laughed and winked at them.

 

“At your service, patron!” She said with a salute, and rushed out of the bathroom, clutching her bag tightly with a grin on her face.

 

Marinette sprinted down the sidewalk, pushing her bag to her side to keep it from bouncing all over the place. She hurriedly opened her bag to check on Tikki,who was clutching onto the side of the bag.

 

“I’m sorry, Tikki, but I’m going to be late! Ugh, I really shouldn’t have taken so long to eat.” She said, out of breath as her footsteps sent jolts throughout her body. Tikki laughed, the vibrations Marinette was causing her laughter to sound funny.

 

“It’s alright, Marinette. No harm done yet, alright? Just hurry-”

 

“Whoa, watch out!”

 

Marinette looked up to find the source of the voice, only to ram head on into someone. She tripped over her feet, and pushed them both over, Marinette landing on top of the poor stranger.

 

“O-Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry, please let me-” Marinette started, only to stop dead in her tracks as she realized who she had fallen on. Her stomach dropped, and her mind went into an anxious frenzy.

 

Lila stared at the girl who had somehow ended up straddling her due to her clumsiness, and felt her heart skip. Blue, sparkling eyes stared at her full of concern, worry, and fear, and all she could think of was how adorable she looked, especially with her beautifully dark hair pulled into perfect, sleek pigtails. This girl had just run into her, and she looked absolutely sorry for it-something Lila wasn’t really used to. Her sugary pink lips were pursed together in a surprised pout, and Lila felt a sudden tug in her heart.

 

_“I could totally kiss her right now.”_

 

The thought burst into her mind, intruding the peace and awe the girl had set Lila into. The worst of it all, though, was the faint snicker she heard coming out of her bag.

 

Pygmy was laughing at her.

 

Lila laughed nervously to cover her kwami’s giggles and jolted up reflexively, which of course, caused her to ram her forehead into Marinette’s.

 

“Ouch!” Marinette exclaimed, pushing herself off of Lila and rubbing her forehead.

 

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you! Are you fine?” Lila said hurriedly. “I-I mean, you’re definitely _fine-_ wait, ignore I said that-!”

 

Marinette giggled despite herself as she watched Lila turn into a blabbering mess in front of her. It was nice for someone else other than her to struggle with their words for once.

 

 _“She doesn’t know I’m Ladybug obviously, so she’s just a normal girl who’s never met me before. Which means she doesn’t want to rip your head off.”_ Marinette thought in relief. A small part of her was grateful for this fresh start with Lila; after her horrible and rash actions, starting over was a concept that appealed to her.

 

“Oh, it’s fine. I should be the one apologizing, anyways! I really do need to watch where I’m going when I’m rushing to school like this.” Marinette said with a smile, waving Lila off. Lila’s heart fluttered as Marinette’s beautiful grin seemed to adorn her graceful features with a heavenly glow, and she cleared her throat.

 

“U-Uh, well, let me help you up.” Lila stuttered, doing her best to maintain a normal smile as she pushed herself off of the ground and held her hand out helpfully.

 

“My name’s Lila, by the way.” Lila managed as Marinette’s delicate took hers gratefully. With an effortless pull, Marinette was back on her feet, still holding Lila’s hand.

 

“I’m Marinette! You go to this school?” She asked innocently.

 

“Oh, uh yeah! I just moved here-Wait, you’ve never heard of me before?”

 

“Um, no, I don’t think so. It’s been a busy week, so I haven’t been caught up with the flow of things by my best friend, Alya. She says she’s been really busy with her blog, too, so yeah, sorry about that.” Marinette lied flawlessly, rubbing the back of her neck in faux embarrassment. She could see relief radiate from Lila’s expression, and Marinette could feel a warmth flooding her chest. The bell suddenly rang, and the two girls looked at each other in surprise.

 

“Uh, we should get going! What do you have for homeroom?” Marinette asked Lila as they rushed away towards the school’s front steps.

 

“Oh, Madame Bustier. I-I was absent yesterday because of an appointment in the morning, though, so I understand if you didn’t see me then.”

 

Marinette smiled in excitement. “Oh, we have the same homeroom! Here, come on, I know the fastest route there!” She said, taking Lila’s hand and dragging her along.

 

Adrien watched the scene in complete awe. Only Marinette would be so kind to befriend Lila after the complete disaster she caused only days ago. He sighed fondly, watching the girl take Lila’s hand and run off with her.

 

“Are you just going to let her make off with your girlfriend? I saw those goo-goo eyes she was making!” Plagg said, his voice muffled underneath Adrien’s shirt. Adrien walked up to the doors and pushed them open, ignoring Plagg’s remark about Marinette being his girlfriend and taking his other comment into consideration.

 

“You know, for once, I think you might be onto something, Plagg. Kind, beautiful, amazing. Who wouldn’t have a crush on Marinette?”

 

Plagg snorted. “Yes, there seems to be no bounds to the amount of people who fall in love with that girl. You are no exception, you ignorant boy.”

  


Adrien rolled his eyes and shoved Plagg back into his shirt. “Alright, I don’t have time to argue with you. I have to get to class.”

 

Chloé cursed under her breath as she hid behind the cafeteria door, making sure she stayed out of the view of Alya, who for some reason was scouring the kitchen, same as her.

 

“Ugh, of course someone else decides to tag along when I’m actually trying to keep my presence a secret!” Chloé whispered to Folle. Folle rolled her eyes.

 

“Just tell her to buzz off!” Folle said matter-of-factly. Chloé sighed wearily.

 

“Okay, but how am I going to explain kicking Alya out of the kitchen when I wanted to be there in the first place? I can’t get her in trouble for it or else I catch the heat too, and if I go in there, she might insult me, or tell other people, and everyone will find out-”

 

“Whoa. Hold on there, honey.” Folle said quietly, putting her hand on a hyperventilating Chloé. Chloé closed her eyes and focused on steadying her breaths, trying to form a plan in her head.

 

“I think we should just wait until she leaves.” Chloé said finally. Folle looked distraught at the the thought of having to wait, but ultimately agreed.

 

“Fine.” Folle huffed, slouching into the Gucci bag. Chloé groaned and peeped into the kitchen again.

 

“I just hope I’m not late for-”

 

The bell rang, interrupting her before her thought could be said aloud. Chloé watched as Alya swore, grabbed what looked like a brownie, and made off for class.

 

Chloé jumped up and ran into the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge. Swinging the door open, she gasped as she saw the fruit drawer lined with all kinds of citrus, but only one lone lime sat on top of the rest. She grabbed it, snatched a few napkins off the counter(“Stain my purse, and I make you sleep in a Dollar Tree bag!”), and sprinted down the hallway, hoping to make it on time for class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lila: oh shit she's cute  
> Pygmy: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> (Update 4.5.16: I won't be updating for a while-like two or three days-because I have SO much to catch up on and the lack of sleep is catching up to me in the form of migraines so haAHa 
> 
> hope y'all understand!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤)


	5. Dream Team Pt. 2: ARE YOU READAAAAAAYYY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haha teenagers and romance am i right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha i was listening to bubblegum bitch by MATD and victorious by P!ATD at the very end so sorry if it seems cliche im doing my best to get y'all as pumped up as I am
> 
> (also please leave me comments they make me happy and i live for attention lmao)

“Ah, crap.” Nino muttered under his breath as Marinette dragged Lila into the classroom with innocent glee. He pulled his hat down as they passed, uncaring if Lila noticed.

 

 _“Somebody’s gonna have to warn her about what a liar she is before she gets hurt.”_ Nino thought to himself.

 

“Nino? Are your headphones on? Because I can usually tell, you blast your music to the point of further speeding your deafness. Or are you lost in DJ la-la land again?”

 

Nino looked up to find Marinette with a smile, hands on her hips as an obviously nervous Lila stood next to her, avoiding his gaze. Nino sighed and smiled back.

 

“Focused, not distracted. And I sometimes just put them on out of habit. Or to keep people from talking to me when I’m busy. Like right now.” He said teasingly, causing Marinette to roll her eyes.

 

“Yeah, okay, Nino. I guess you’re too busy for the notes you asked to borrow, so I’ll just-”

 

“Okay, okay!” He said, laughing as he dropped the act the instant she used her advantage on him. Marinette giggled and fished out the algebra notes for him with a beaming smile. She glanced at Lila for a split second, and her smile dropped as recollection worked its magic.

 

“Oh, have you met Nino yet, Lila?” Marinette said, giving Lila a small smile, urging her to introduce herself. Nino frowned, ready to expect another bout of neatly executed lies to spill out of her mouth. But to his surprise, she blushed. Like, full-blown red cheeks kind of blush. If she hadn’t been looking into Marinette’s eyes so intently and dreamily while she did it, he would have assumed she was just embarrassed. He shook his head and sighed, taking pity on the poor girl. No one, and this means literally no one, can do anything morally wrong in Marinette’s presence unless they were freaking _akumatized_. She just has this angelic, kind aura that makes you want to hug her and keep her safe, while also radiating this kick-ass “cross-me-and-you’re-dead” attitude; all while being cute.

 

_“A crush on Marinette’s better than a crush on Adrien, at least. Bro sadly lets himself get walked all over by girls, but Marinette? Lila better think twice before pulling anything stupid if she wants to get with Marinette.”_

 

Nino finally sighed, sticking his hand out towards Lila.

 

“No, she hasn’t. Not really, at least. Name’s Nino.” He said, genuinely hoping Lila would understand the second chance he was giving her. Lila stared at him with wide eyes, and he raised an eyebrow as he locked eyes with her, and it finally clicked.

 

 _“A second chance.”_ Lila thought to herself. She gave him a small smile, taking his hand confidently.

 

“Lila. Nice to meet you, Nino.” She said, her heart bursting with joy at the boy’s change of heart.

 

“Nice to finally meet you.”

 

“Nino?”

 

Nino faced the source of the voice to find his best friend standing in the doorway, head slightly cocked to the right like a confused puppy. He smiled at him warmly and gave Lila’s hand one last shake before letting go and walking over to greet him.

 

“Dude! You were almost late to class today, did you notice that? I mean, _Marinette_ got here before you did.” He said.

 

“I wasn’t here _that_ late. There’s five minutes until the bell.” Adrien said as he rolled his eyes and absent-mindedly patted Nino on the shoulder as he watched Marinette interact with Lila with a confidence he never got to see when she talked to him.

 

“Uh, Adrien? You okay?” Nino asked, turning to search for what could possibly be distracting his friend. He clicked his teeth and shook his head.

 

“Is it about what happened with Lila on Wednesday?” Nino whispered. Adrien looked at him in bewilderment, blinking twice before even being able to formulate a response.

 

“Wednesday? Oh-No, it isn’t. I was just…..Marinette seems to be really comfortable with Lila, huh?” He said as he watched Marinette flip through her sketchbook, her bubbly demeanor coming out for all to see. Lila nodded her head, paying attention to the drawings as much as she could, but Adrien saw the smiles and glances she would steal in between. His gut twisted, and something pulled in the back of his mind. It wasn’t a quiet thought, either; it was as if his mind was screaming, “YOU’RE MISSING SOMETHING, IDIOT!”

 

It was Nino’s turn to stare in bewilderment.

 

“Uhh…..yeah, I guess? She seems to have warmed up to her right away. Though I’m sure she hasn’t realized the way Lila has a major crush on her yet. Why?”

 

He had just told Plagg that it was understandable for Lila to have a crush on Marinette. He certainly had nothing against Marinette, or any girl for that matter, having a girlfriend themselves, but the way his stomach was churning and how he realized his hands were clenched tightly as he watched Marinette turn to Lila who was too too close to her lips, and the way she lit up as Lila told her something, just seemed…..

 

Like a threat.

 

“I-I-They just seem like they would be an odd couple. Marinette could do so much better.” He said without thinking. Adrien clamped his mouth shut and tensed, his internal screaming growing louder and louder by the second.

 

Nino’s mouth dropped at this sudden judgement that had come out Adrien Agreste’s own mouth. Sure, Lila really made an awful first impression, on Adrien most of all, but saying she didn’t deserve redemption? First of all, it just didn’t seem like Adrien to say such a thing. Second, that was just plain messed up.

 

“Well, it’s really none of your business, Adrien.” Nino said, suddenly feeling defensive of Lila and to an extent, Marinette.

 

“I-No, I didn’t-!”

 

The bell rang, interrupting Adrien’s half-baked excuses. Nino adjusted his cap and slapped him on the back.

 

“Whatever, bro. If I didn’t know any better, I would say you were just being jealous.” He said smugly. “People tend to be petty when they’re jealous.”

 

“J-Jealous?” Adrien stammered, rushing after Nino into their seats. Nino nodded his head, and smiled knowingly as Adrien began to stutter out explanation after explanation in hopes of deterring the notion.

 

“Hey boys!” Alya greeted breathlessly, jogging into the classroom. She put her hands on their desk and pushed some hair out of her face.

 

“You seen Marinette?”

 

“Right here, Alya!” Marinette shouted, waving her hand at her friend cheerfully.

 

Nino snorted. “There’s your answer, babe.”

 

Alya rolled her eyes and slapped his cap down. She turned to her friend expectantly, full of energy. The smile on her face dropped as soon as it came as Alya realized who Marinette was with, laughing and teasing like no tomorrow. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see a sympathetic Nino.

 

“Don’t worry, she’s not going to be swept away by Lila. She’s just being Marinette-sweet, kind, and welcoming. Right, Adrien?”

 

“Ye-Yeah! Yeah.” Adrien managed before turning away and muttering under his breath. Alya raised her eyebrows in confusion and leaned in towards her boyfriend.

 

“What’s up with pretty boy today?”

 

“He’s denying being jealous of Marinette flirting with Lila.”

 

“She’s not flirting with her!” Adrien hissed before crossing his arms childishly. Alya covered her mouth, desperately trying to hold in her laughter.

 

“Oh my god, you have a crush on Marinette?!” Alya whispered excitedly.

 

“No! Just-Ugh, I don’t know?” Adrien said, the statement coming out like a question more than anything. Alya gasped, squealing and ruffling his hair affectionately.

 

“Aww, that’s adorable! Alright, I’ll go separate the two lovebirds over there before you lose any chance with your princess!”

 

Adrien tensed at the nickname, but Alya went off without noticing. Nino shook his head.

 

“You’re so screwed, dude.”

 

“Shut-Nino, I don’t have a crush on her!”

 

“Bull. Crap.”

 

Alya laughed to herself as she walked away from the friends bickering. Lila noticed her first, her flirty demeanor dropping in an instant to be replaced with fearful eyes and nervous smiles.

“Oh, Alya! Have you met Lila yet?” Marinette said excitedly. Alya glanced back and forth between the two, heavily debating whether or not she should interrogate Marinette’s sudden buddy-buddy attitude with the girl she considered competition two days ago, or why Lila was suddenly acting so strangely around Marinette alone. She closed her eyes and thought to herself,

 

 _“What would Youya want me to do? Keep my mouth shut, probably. It’s probably not superhero-like to publicly roast someone who’s flirting with your best friend, despite her, quote on quote, ‘_ transgressions _.’”_

 

She opened them again and sighed, tapping her chin in faux pensiveness.

 

“Uh, don’t think so. Hey, Lila! My name’s Alya Cesaire, Ladybug and Chat Noir extraordinaire.” She winked at her and held out her hand.

 

“See what I did there?” Alya joked, and she could see the tension roll off of Lila’s shoulders.

 

“Yes, very clever.” Lila giggled, taking her hand and shaking it.

 

“Ladies, class is going to start soon. I’d appreciate it if you took your seats. And Lila, since we still have not gotten the extra desk for you, and if these two don’t mind, you may share the booth with Alya and Marinette.”

 

“Oh, we don’t mind at all!” Marinette chirped. She plopped down into her seat and patted the edge of the bench, beckoning Lila to sit. Lila smiled and sat down next to her gratefully as Alya mouthed apologies to a flustered Adrien.

 

“Adrien!” Chloé exclaimed as she rushed into the classroom.

 

 _“And the cycle begins again.”_ Chloé thought to herself as she smacked her hands down onto the desk, effectively startling Adrien out of his daydreaming.

 

“How’s my handsome prince doing today?” She cooed, leaning into his personal space. Adrien gave her a patient smile and shrugged, despite the glares she was receiving from Nino.

 

“I wouldn’t know.” He joked, and Chloé internally sighed. No matter how horrible she acted to everyone else, Adrien managed to remain a good person-and yet, self-deprecating humor seemed to be his favorite outlet for his troubles. Though loads better than her snobby attitude, she truly did worry for Adrien-she had a father who spoiled her, and he had the exact opposite. How did he manage to ever smile despite it?

 

“Oh, don’t you say that.” Chloé said softly, putting her hand on his cheek. “You know you’re a good person-take a compliment.”

 

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows, only slightly confused to the completely and utterly shocked Nino sitting next to her, mouth agape and eyes wide open.

 

“U-Uh, after all, it’s an honor when that compliment is coming de moi!” Chloé said nervously, hoping to recover from the slight crack in her stuck-up armor. She backed away and walked to her seat, sitting stiff and straight.

 

“What the hell? Literally what the hell?” Nino finally said. “Chloé said something legit nice to you, Adrien. She was being _understanding_. Oh my god, is she high?”

 

“Nino, shut up for a second. Nothing is making sense at the moment, so instead of dealing with it, I’ll deal with the Algebra test.”

 

“Oh crap, the notes!” Nino exclaimed, scribbling furiously into his notebook as he desperately tried to copy Marinette’s notes before Madame Bustier handed out the test. Adrien sighed, putting his chin into his hand.

 

Was it wrong to _wish_ for an akuma attack to avoid your problems? With his luck, just wishing for one would probably bring one about anyways. His Lady would _murder_ him for wishing someone who attack Paris just to get out of school, but in all honesty, he didn’t really care. Adrien really just wanted a reason to get out of that school and focus on being Chat Noir-not confused, insecure Adrien.

 

Luck seems to have pretty keen hearing-especially on Fridays.

 

Screams pierced through the air, and five teenagers sensed a negative presence wash over them, sending chills through their bones. Cackles followed behind the shrill cries, and panic bubbled inside of everyone in the room. Two were used to it and were already beginning to form an escape plan, while three sat in amazement.

 

 _“This is it.”_ They thought in unison.

 

An alarm began to blare inside of the classroom, and everyone was out of their seats, Madame Bustier’s voice drowned out beneath the siren as they all rushed out of the classroom. Paris had been so accustomed to the akuma attacks that school boards have created drills for them-smart thinking, on their part. It was good for the safety of all in two ways: it gave the students a chance to take cover, and unknowingly gave two superheroes a chance to take action without risking their identities.

 

Which the three teenagers realized very quickly.

 

Marinette was out of the classroom first, light on her feet as she zoomed down the hallway, and into the janitor’s closet just round the bend. She opened her purse lightning quick, and Tikki shot out in a flash.

 

“Marinette, you must be ready. Hawkmoth is going to try and send scarier, tougher akumas, gifting them with enhanced powers in any way he can. You must be ready to be the leader of this team of heroes that will be forming.” She said in a rush. Marinette gulped, and clenched her fists, gritting her teeth in determination.

 

“Hawkmoth will not win. I won’t let him. If this is what Master Fu believes will finally bring his downfall, then I’m ready to do whatever it takes.” She said boldly. Tikki smiled wildy and puffed out her chest in pride.

 

Adrien went into the boy’s restroom, ignoring Plagg’s teasing(“I’m sorry, what was that about the girl _not_ being your girlfriend?”) on his behavior towards Marinette.

 

Lila faced the same treatment in an already-empty classroom, though it was more fangirling from Pygmy than anything(“My, my, ma Lila, you sure do know how to seduce the ladies!”).

 

Alya hid behind another pillar, met with praises from Youya(“I was almost scared you were going to chew your friend out! Is that a thing people still say? Chew out?) and some words of advice.

 

Chloé hid in the classroom until it cleared and faced an annoyed(“Ugh, this is going to leave me so sore.”) Folle.

 

“Tikki!”

 

“Plagg!”

 

“Pygmy!”

 

“Youya!”

 

“Folle!”

 

The heroes stood proudly, mustering every ounce of courage they could find, and with a simultaneous, invigorated cry, shouted,

 

_“Transforme moi!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why is Nino so important in this chapter when this fic is about the Dream Team?????? Why is everyone already close to blowing their covers????????? why am I not doing my fucking homework????? who kNOWS I WONDER WHAT THE AUTHOR'S THOUGHT PROCESS IS HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM


	6. Dream Team Pt. 3: Excellent Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Irresistable by Fall Out Boy plays*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I STAYED UP UNTIL THREE TO WRITE MOST OF THIS YOU'RE WELCOME
> 
> (also the slightest, slightest hint towards self-harm, so be warned mon amis)

Light engulfed the five teenagers, and a rush of adrenaline flooded their veins, pure, concentrated magic at work in gifting the heroes with their powers. And just like that, five heroes donned their armor and weaponry, ready to take on the enemy.

 

As expected, Ladybug was the first on the scene. She dashed out of the closet, whipped out her yo-yo and hoped for the best as she relied on where the frightened civilians seemed to be running from. She spotted a flash of neon colors, and retracted her yo-yo, allowing herself to fall to the ground. Her feet hit the pavement, and she was running towards the now visible akuma in all its throwback glory. The akuma turned to Ladybug, and she could tell right away that this was just another young, poor middle schooler done wrong. She had long side bangs that covered the entire right half of her face, and her hair was dyed a variety of colors, all bright and flashy in between the streaks of her hair. Her mask looked liked ruined make-up after a crying session, her dress was stitched together with different patches of vibrant colors, and the most noticeable trait she donned was the rows upon rows of bracelets on her arms, glowing with dark power.

 

“I am Scene Queen, and everyone will be on their knees as the scars they are desperate to hide are put on display for all to see!” The girl shrieked, and she cackled as she spun around, releasing a flurry of beams in every direction. Ladybug ducked for cover behind a building, pulling a child out of harm’s way before any more major damage could be done. She heard a thump next to her, and rolled her eyes, not needing to turn to see who it was.

 

“Sorry for the delay, My Lady. Getting out of school and in the action can sometimes be so im-paw-ssible.”

 

“Just glad you’re here now, Chat.” She said, looking up into the sky with an annoyed, but still evident smile. “This is a destructive akuma, and I think it changes the physical appearance of others to become scarred and ugly.”

 

“Good deductive skills! That is, in fact, what she does, ma cherie. I had to witness her power in play on the way over. Let’s just say I’m _scarred_ for life.”

 

“Of course you would make that pun. Let me find out where the akuma is first before you get into a pun frenzy, okay, Chat? You think you can cover me while I try to get as close as possible?”

 

With a quick nod and a playful salute, the two were back in the thick of it, dodging attacks, blocking beams, and trying to figure out what Ladybug had to break. It seemed to go on and on for an eternity, and they had to find cover for the both of them as they were left breathless and exhausted, panting in a desperate attempt to catch their breath.

 

“Ladybug, we need, a miracle, to defeat this akuma.” Chat Noir managed between wheezes. All Ladybug could do was nod in agreement.

 

“Well, I at least am 90% sure that the akuma is in one of her bracelets. But she’s, she’s in the air? We can’t fly and, and we need to somehow, avoid all the beams, without getting hit.” Ladybug panted. Chat Noir gulped suddenly, and stared straight towards the horizon completely frozen. Ladybug, befuddled, looked towards the horizon herself, only to gasp as she spotted what had gotten his attention.

 

A blur of yellow, orange, and blue headed their way, getting closer and closer by the second. The blur of orange headed straight towards them lightning quick, and before the heroes could register the fact that they might get hit by a person going a million mile a second, they stopped a mere two feet in front of them, a wide grin on their face. Ladybug looked at her in astonishment, expecting Lila to be in front of her akumatized, but instead found a girl who looked strikingly similar, but with significant differences in the design of her outfit. It seemed more...authentic than Volpina’s. But still, Ladybug was on high alert.

 

“Hey! Name’s-”

 

“Volpina?” Ladybug said involuntarily. Renardyne shot her a sour look and rolled her eyes.

 

“I was afraid of this. No, I’m not the akuma, Volpina. The name is Renardyne, and Master Fu has chosen me to bear a Miraculous. Now, I repeat: do you guys need some help?”

 

Still out of breath, Chat Noir glanced at Ladybug, shrugging his shoulders before turning back to her.

 

“What can you do?”

 

“Well, that’s really up to Lady Boss over there.” She said without looking at Ladybug. “But first, everyone else needs to get here.”

 

As if on cue, two heroes landed on either side of her, seemingly dropping down from the sky. Well, one landed, at least. The other floated in the air with a graceful poise, regal and royal in the way she held herself. However, her regal confidence crumbled in the presence of the other heroes, and she shyly looked down at the ground.

 

“Uh, hi? I’m Queen Bee, and I was hoping…..M-Maybe I could help?” She stuttered out, fixing a loose strand of her from her ponytail. She was donned with a beautifully intricate yellow-and-black sweetheart mermaid dress, the hanging material that floated behind twisted to resemble a strangely unique stinger. Her legs and rest of her upper body were covered in the standard yellow Magical Spandex™, sleek black louboutin heels that look like they could kill a man, and she held a what look like a tube in her hand that was wrapped in black and yellow cloth.  A comb at the base of her ponytail  and a masquerade mask over her face, she looked exactly like her namesake; a queen bee. The girl to the right of Renardyne piped up, looking around distractedly.

 

“Hey! I’m Pava, and I’m a new hero just like them! Plus, I’m a big fan of you and Chat Noir but, you know, “ She said, waving it off with fake nonchalance, “It’s whatever.”

 

Ladybug analyzed the girl and saw that her suit may have been the most similar to hers-if not for the colorful gradient of blue and green and very obvious, very beautiful fan of feathers that hung behind her. Her mask was graced with three extravagant feathers on her right side, a brooch was pinned onto her chest, and she held an enormous feather in her left hand; what Ladybug thought was her weapon.

 

Ladybug laughed and turned to Chat Noir, tired and yet appreciative of this new set of hands set to help her out.

 

“Looks like you’re the only guy on the team, Chat. Sorry if you feel left out.”

 

“Oh, not at all, My Lady. I would rather place my life into the hands of magical girls than boys anyday.”

 

She snorted and beckoned the other three heroes to stoop down behind the dumpster they were hiding behind, a plan piecing itself together.

 

“Alright, you guys are definitely going to help. But first things first; what are your powers?”

 

“I create illusions.” Renardyne stated simply.

 

Queen Bee twiddled her thumbs in embarrassment.

  


“Um, I-I can break the laws of reality and do stuff that’s normally, uh, i-impossible?”

 

“I can change fate!” Pava said enthusiastically. “Oh hey, what’s your favorite color, Ladybug?”

 

“Uhh…..pink. And Green.” Ladybug answered, slightly confused. Pava nodded.

 

“Cool, Cool.”

 

“Uh….right. Well that sounds great and all, but I have no idea what do with all of your powers. So uh, let me just…?”

 

“Oh, yeah! Do your thing, LB.” Pava said for the rest of the group. Ladybug laughed to herself before thrusting her yo-yo up into the air and shouting, “Lucky Charm!”

 

Magic spiraled around her arm and surrounded her yo-yo, until an object fell out of the sky, and the magic dispersed. Ladybug held her hands up to catch the solution, only to find that her solution was apparently a megaphone.

 

“Um?” Ladybug said nervously.

 

 _“Alright, so am I just going to taunt the akuma until I get shot in the face with dark magic?”_ She thought bitterly. One minute into having to lead her team, and she had no idea what to do. That is, until her Ladybug vision kicked in. The perfect plan revealed itself right before her very eyes, and she grinned ear to ear in excitement.

 

“I’ve got it!” She exclaimed, and stood confidently in front of her awaiting teammates.

 

“Okay, Chat: I need to wait on my command with Cataclysm ready. See that radio tower down the street?” She said, pointing from the side of the trash can. Chat Noir craned his neck, straining to see his objective, and finally nodded.

 

“Sneak down there and wait. Renardyne,” She said, ignoring how quickly the girl tensed up as she called her name, “Can you create an illusion of multiple Chat Noirs and Ladybugs?”

 

“You bet, Lady Boss.” She said. Ladybug nodded.

 

“Okay, Pava: you’re going to have to be my shield. So you said you can change fate, right?”

 

“Yep? Whether it’s the purpose an object serves or how an object will end up, I can alter it in anything any way I wish for five minutes.”

 

“Alright.” Ladybug said. “Alright!” She repeated, with finality and emphasis. “Are you guys ready to kick Hawkmoth’s butt?!”

 

“Yeah!” Her teammates shouted.

 

“Are you guys ready to save Paris?!”

 

“Yeah!”

 

“Alright, Miraculers; Go!”

 

Chat Noir was off, using his baton to shoot himself into the air and out of the akuma’s peripheral vision. Renardyne shouted, “Eluding Mirage!”, waved her fan in an intricate pattern, copies of Ladybugs and Chat Noirs. Pava shouted, “Changing Fate!”, and held her hand readily as it buzzed with a mysterious blue-green energy. Queen Bee tapped Ladybug’s shoulder in confusion.

 

“Um, you-you didn;t give me a job.” She said meekly. Ladybug gave her a warm smile and leaned towards her ear, whispering what her role would be in the plan. Queen Bee perked up and smiled, nodding in understanding. She floated onto the ground and sat behind the dumpster in wait. Ladybug turned to Pava with a fierce determination.

 

“Ready, Pava?”

 

“Always, hot stuff.”

 

_“Great. She’s the forward version of Chat Noir. As long as she doesn’t make any puns in her attempts to flirt, I’ll live.”_

 

Ladybug grabbed her megaphone and burst into a sprint from behind the dumpster, allowing Pava to lead the way. She clicked the megaphone on and shouted,

 

“Hey, emo girl!”

 

The akuma whipped around and snarled, a wicked grin plastered onto her face.

 

“That. is not. _My name_.” The akuma replied, her voice dripping with venom.

 

“Yeah, that sounds fake, but okay!” Ladybug replied, which earned her a beam shot her way. Pava yelped and swatted at it as if it were a pesky mosquito, and miraculously, the beam turned away.

 

“Amazing!” Ladybug shouted in approval. Pava winked.

 

“Not as amazing as your bod, Bug!” Pava shouted in reply, swatting away another beam. Ladybug laughed, rolling her eyes, and kept her pace, shouting at the akuma, luring it closer and closer to where Chat Noir was. She locked eyes with her partner, and thought as loudly as she could, _“Wait.”_

 

He seemed to read her and slunk back behind the beams of the tower, almost disappearing completely. Suddenly, a building was coming up at the end of the cul-de-sac they were in, and they had no exits or hiding places to avoid the beams any further. Scene Queen cackled as the realization of cornering the heroes dawned on her.

 

“Now your Miraculous-ALL of your Miraculi-are mine!” She shrieked victoriously. Ladybug tutted, putting her hands on her hips.

 

“Which one, mademoiselle akuma?” She said smugly, her cue for Renardyne a go. Renardyne held up her fan, kissed it, and blew onto it before fanning her illusions to life. Dozens of Chat Noirs and Ladybugs made their way towards the original, and before the akuma could realize what was happening, the street was crowded with copies of the same two heroes.

 

“Agh! Well, I’ll blast every single one of you away, even if it takes all day!”

 

Ladybug navigated her way towards the tower, avoiding the random shots the akuma fired towards her copies. Sneaking behind the tower, she found Chat Noir poised and ready, and she smiled at him proudly.

 

“Ready?”

 

“You know it, My Lady.” He said flirtatiously, and shouted, “Cataclysm!”

 

The black energy buzzed around his hand, giving it the sensation he usually felt when his hand fell asleep. He placed it on the tower and watched as the beams rusted and fell out of the sky, towards the copies, and right onto the akuma.

 

“No!” She wailed as the bars formed a prison around her. Though meant to subdue her, the cage seemed to enrage her more, and her beams became a tornado of dark energy that tore through the streets.

 

Queen Bee drew in a shuddery breath and steeled herself.

 

“Come on, Chloé, Ladybug needs you to woman up!” She said to herself, hoping to find the tiniest shred of bravery to get her on her feet. With a long, controlled exhale, she pushed herself off of the ground, spun into the air and shouted,

 

“Carpe Diem!”

 

Queen Bee felt her blood surge with energy, feeling like someone had just injected her with liquid nitrogen. Every single part of her being was alive, was _ready_ for any challenge ahead, and for the first time in years, Queen Bee felt like she could do anything-and actually succeed.

 

She shot towards the akuma, flawlessly avoiding every single one of her beams. Flitting this way and that, Queen Bee had no time to think, and her mind was in a haze; so she stopped thinking. She let her power take over and instinct take lead, and a guttaral war cry escaped her lips through the depths of her chest as she raced towards the akuma,  hit the ground, jumped up, and managed to swipe off every single one of her bracelets out of her hands without missing a single one. She chucked them all into the air, and one flew higher than the rest, darkened and radiating with negative energy.

 

“Ladybug, now!” Queen Bee shouted, and Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around the next radio tower, slingshot herself into the air, and snagged the bracelet out of the air. Queen Bee was right next to her, and Ladybug felt her arms wrap under her arms, and her descent was stopped. Ladybug pulled apart the bracelet, and Queen Bee thrust her into the air as Ladybug kept her focus on the akuma fluttering away. She tapped open her yo-yo and laughed victoriously.

 

“No more evil doing for you, petit akuma!”

 

She brought her arm around with one last victorious swing and shouted,

 

_“Je vous libère du mal!”_

 

Her yo-yo snapped shut, and she landed on the ground with a grunt, tapped her yo-yo back open, and a pure white butterfly flapped away.

 

“Bye bye, petit papillon.” Ladybug said breathlessly, grinning ear to ear and planning on never stopping. She spun the megaphone into her hand and tossed it up into the air.

 

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Ladybug cried, and just like that, the akuma was defeated. Magic washed over Paris to fix the damage that had been caused, and her team erupted into cheers, dogpiling on top of her in elation.

 

“Oh my god, you’re going to squish the bug!” Ladybug joked breathlessly as Chat Noir nuzzled into her neck. Her teammates ignored her and screamed and shouted victoriously, having completed their first mission as a team.

 

“You’re so amazing! That was so freaking incredible!” Chat Noir said as he squeezed her tightly.

 

“We were all amazing! Hawkmoth doesn’t stand a chance against us now! Did you see the way Queen Bee just slid all those bracelets off?! That was the stuff of legends!”

 

“W-Well, did you see the way Renardyne managed to create so many illusions in such little time? And they were all so lifelike!” Queen Bee gushed, and Renardyne rolled her eyes.

 

“Okay, but Pava is the best human shield _ever._ I’m pretty sure she could stop bullets with that kind of power.”

 

“I’m just so pumped that I got to see Chat Noir’s Cataclysm up close and personal! His destructive powers aren’t just that, they’re _bad luck_ for whoever it’s aimed towards. That’s so freaking cool!” Pava shouted, punching Chat Noir in the shoulder.

 

“Wh-where am I?”

 

Everyone turned to the young girl that sat, perplexion and fear flashing across her face at the sudden attention. Ladybug squirmed and wiggled her way out of the pile of heroes, and began walking towards the girl. She knelt down and took her hands, and the girl flinched, but could not take them back before Ladybug saw the fresh wounds trailing down her arms.

 

“Oh, darling.” Ladybug whispered, and the girl remained frozen as Ladybug stared at her with sympathetic eyes.

 

“Hawkmoth is disgusting if he took advantage of you for this. He will _not_ get away with this.” She whispered to herself, her soft gaze hardened with fierce resolve.

 

“I-I-Everyone saw them, and I-I didn’t-” The girl stuttered, choking out sobs. Ladybug took her into a hug, and the girl cried into her shoulder. Ladybug felt her own eyes begin to water, and she vowed that she would take Hawkmoth down as soon as possible; he was never going to take advantage of someone like this, ever again.

 

Ladybug let go, ignoring the warning beeps of her earrings and told the girl,

 

“I know it seems like you don’t matter. I know what it feels like to feel like you aren’t worthy of being-well, just being, in general. I didn’t even feel like I deserved to be a hero. But you? I’m telling you right now, ma petite coccinelle, that you deserve so much better. Screw everyone else if they can’t understand; I understand. Okay? If you need to know that someone cares, just know that Ladybug cares. I really do.”

 

She lifted the girl to her feet and wiped her tears with a small smile.

 

“Th-Thank you, Ladybug.” The girl whispered gratefully. Ladybug nodded, planting a kiss on her forehead before turning, waving at her partners and zipping off into the horizon.

 

Chat Noir sighed. “Only she could say such meaningful words.” He said. Pava and Queen Bee nodded while Renardyne watched as two adults, who were probably the girl’s parents, enveloped the akuma victim into a hug, and her heart twisted.

 

 _“She’s either really fake, or really, really, genuine.”_ She thought to herself.

 

Pava’s Miraculous beeped, followed by hers, Chat Noir’s, and finally, Queen Bee’s. They looked at each other and smiled, before making their way off into different directions.

 

Five teenagers detransformed in safe hiding places, the taste of victory still fresh on the tongue.

 

One man watched from his home as the heavy rain clouds that threatened to weep again departed to reveal the morning sun once again.

 

“Well, since you are probably expecting to hear it; Excellent choice, Master.” Wayzz said with a smile. Fu grinned and patted his kwami affectionately.

  
“Thank you, Wayzz.”

* * *

**HERE'S A LINK TO SOME HORRIBLE QUALITY PICS OF OUR NEW HEROES!!!!!!!**

****http://starsanddaisies.co.vu/post/142989295689/hey-what-up-im-just-posting-some-shitty-quality

** **

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love these stupid kids so damn much hELP


	7. Magie Sucree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone loves bakeries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> v short, i apologize in advance, but I really really really need to focus on school rn since i've got to catch up on all these missing assignments i got. I'm too invested in this fic to NOT update though; I'm just saying that they might not be as long as I wish they could be. Hope y'all understand!

“Nino, you are literally the best boyfriend in the world.”

 

Nino beamed at Alya, who was staring in awe at the footage of today’s fight that she hadn’t been able to catch. An Akuma Day was in full effect, and just to clarify-it’s basically a snow day for Paris. Except when the premises are not because of beautiful frozen water crystals piling up by the thousands, but because a possessed civilian is causing chaos by the thousands. Nino, unknowing of why his girlfriend was not already at the scene of the showdown, had taken it upon himself to record the presence of three new heroes fighting alongside Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

 

“Alya, if I die right now, I’m going to kill you.” He muttered underneath his breath as he hid behind a nearby building, phone focused on the akuma that had just been trapped underneath rusted bars and begun to shoot beams in a flurry.

 

Of course, Alya was grateful. The first thing she had thought of was how her superhero responsibilities meant that she might have to shut down the Ladyblog for good.

 

“Oh Youya, it’s going to be so hard to give it up.” Alya had whispered to her kwami that morning. They nodded their head sympathetically and patted her shoulder. 

 

“Don’t despair, Alya. I’m sure you’ll find some way to keep it up. After all, with the personification of good luck on your side, how could you not?”

 

And their words rang true. Alya panted as she rushed away from the scene, unsure of when her transformation was going to wear off completely. Then the final beep rang, and her gut dropped with dread. Alya ducked into an alleyway, and her gut feeling was proven right as her transformation wore off in a brilliant flash of blue, and Youya yawned widely.

 

“My my, it’s been a while since I’ve done that. Of course, not as long of a while as some of the other kwamis, I’m sure, but still. How did you feel about your first mission as a hero?”

 

“I felt great!” Alya shouted, throwing her hands up into the air. “Oh my god, the way Chat Noir used cataclysm-And Ladybug’s plan was so amazing-! Oh, and I can’t forget Renardyne’s and Queen Bee’s sick powers! God, Youya, being a superhero is so freaking awesome.”

 

Youya laughed tiredly and floated down to Alya’s bag, shuffling inside. 

 

“Glad to hear it. I’d love to hear more, but I’ve kind been depleted immensely magic energy level-wise, so I’m going to sleep now.”

 

Nino found her later walking away from the scene, and Alya floundered in her attempts to divert Nino’s attention away from the fact that she did not have her phone in her hands and asked why he had his. One thing led to another, and Alya’s Ladyblog probably had been inexplicably solved.

 

But not without a price.

 

“Ah well, your Ladyblog isn’t going to run itself, right? So I thought, ‘Hey, if my girlfriend is going to be a crime fighting hero, might as well help her out.’ Oh, what’s Ladybug and Chat Noir like? You get anything out of them while superhero-ing?”

 

Eh, not like Alya was going to be able to keep it secret for long, anyways.

 

“I found out that Ladybug’s favorite colors are pink and green.” Alya said. She shrugged, handing Nino hack his phone and taking his hand. “Just trying to warm them up to the idea that I’m going to be asking them a LOT of questions.”

 

Nino laughed, shaking his head. “Be careful, though. Dudes ain’t gonna be comfortable if you bombard them real quick. Just start out really, really slow. Okay?”

 

Alya smiled. “Okay.” She gave Nino a quick peck on his cheek, and continued to chat about her first mission as they headed over to the Dupain-Cheng bakery,

 

Lila was in internal turmoil. 

 

_ “If I go to her bakery, then she might think I’m coming on too strong. But on the other hand, she might appreciate me coming over to see her and be glad I want to hang out with her. Ugh, that old man must have known he was screwing with my mind when he told me where that hot chocolate was…” _

 

She closed her eyes and exhaled. She put her hand on the doorknob of the bakery and twisted, finally pushing the door open.

 

“Well, hello! I was wondering how much longer it was going to take for you to come in.” A friendly voice said. Lila looked up to find a kind-looking woman at the counter, smoothing out her apron.

 

“I-Uh, yeah, it’s my first time here and I just, you know, best bakery in Paris! Pretty intimidating.” Lila managed, and she bit her tongue as she walked up to the counter. The woman simply laughed, waving her off.

 

“What would you like, dear?”

 

“Um, do you still serve hot chocolate?”

 

The woman looked at her with wide eyes. “Uh, well, yes, but that hot chocolate is made by our daughter. If you don’t mind the wait, however?”

 

“Oh, of course not!”

 

The woman smiled, wiped her hands on a rag and shouted, “Marinette! Cup of cocoa, please!”

 

Lila froze. 

 

“Coming, maman!” A sweet voice sounded, and two seconds later, Marinette burst through the back door of the bakery, tying on an adorable old-fashioned waist apron that frilled around its edges. Her eyes landed on Lila, and her whole face lit up into a heart-throbbing smile, and Lila was afraid her knees would betray her by giving out right then and there.

 

“Lila! What’s up?” She said cheerfully as she walked over to the large metallic machine behind the counter.

 

“Well, someone gave me this  _ really  _ good hot chocolate, and told me it was from here. Figures you’re the one who makes it. Who else could make something so magical?” Lila said, winking at Marinette. Marinette laughed and turned on the machine, ignorant to her mother’s surprised look.

 

“Uh, I’m going to check on your father, Marinette. You mind manning the counter for a minute or two?” Sabine asked carefully, smiling knowingly at Lila. Lila felt a blush creeping up her neck.

 

_ “Oh no, her mom knows. She knooooows.”  _ Lila groaned internally. Marinette nodded.

 

“Of course not! Papa needs all the help he can get.”

 

Sabine patted Marinete on the head and raised an eyebrow at Lila before turning away.

 

“Tom and I are going to have to talk to Marinette about the fanclub she’s unintentionally gathering. My poor daughter; when it comes to love, she has her father’s approach. Obliviously charming.”

 

“It’s not  _ that  _ good, though the compliment is appreciated!” Marinette chirped as pulled down the lever on the machine and held a mug under it. Lila watched as steam poured out from all sides as the chocolatey goodness fell down like a sweetened waterfall, and she sighed.

 

“Trust me, Mari; it is.”

 

“Yo, Adrien!” Nino called out, spotting his friend rushing down the street. He skidded to a stop and looked around wildly until his eyes fell on the couple, and he gave them a weary smile.

 

“Uh, hey Nino, Hey Alya.” He waved. “I’m lost.”

 

“Seriously? Dude, can’t you just call the Gorilla on your phone?”

 

Adrien’s shoulders sagged as he reached into his bag and pulled out a completely shattered iPhone. Alya gasped, clutching her chest and face stricken with horror as if she’d just witnessed a murder.

 

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck as he walked towards them. “...Yeah.”

 

“How?!” Nino shouted as he stroked the cracks of the phone delicately.

 

I would go into depths of describing just exactly how that happened, detailing what Adrien felt as he watched the inevitable fate of his phone come all too soon, but it really can just be simply explained like this:

 

Adrien had sweaty hands, and had just detransformed on top of a building, due to poor planning and bad luck. The rest, I’m sure, you can figure out on your own.

 

“In all honesty? I don’t know.” Adrien lied. At least there was an ounce of truth in that; one never truly knows how you manage to forget the time limit that comes with your  _ superpowers _ . “Can I borrow one of yours?”

 

“Uh, sure, you can borrow mine. But we’re heading over to Marinette’s bakery, and I can give it to you then. Perfect opportunity to hang out, right Alya?”

 

Alya nodded enthusiastically, catching onto Nino’s plan. “Oh, definitely. Plus, we can use as an excuse to get Miss Busybody to take a break!”

 

Adrien laughed as they began to walk towards the bakery, and he shoved the growing worry of how his father would react elsewhere. He’d deal with that later. Right now, he’d get to see Marinette.

  
And hang out with his friends, of course.


	8. God, Teenagers Just Don't Get The Concept Of Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe you aint slick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's late, I have seventeen missing assignments to make up, and "Elle Me Dit" is a good song

Sin

(noun)

1.an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.

 

In my book, that’s exactly what I would describe Adrien’s massacre of Marinette’s poor macaroons.

 

Marinette flushed and covered her mouth in a struggle to keep herself from laughing as Adrien scarfed down half of the box of macaroons she had brought to the table of her visiting friends. Alya snickered as she grabbed Marinette’s shoulders to calm the vibration shaking Marinette’s body.

 

“A-Adri-” Marinette started, but she completely lost it as Adrien whipped around to look at her with wide eyes, like a deer caught in headlights. She bust out laughing and put her head onto the table. Alya and Nino joined as Lila stared at Adrien in what looked like a mixture of disgust and awe.

 

“Pl-Please, you’re going to eat all of them before I get any!” Marinette laughed out, grabbing her sides. At least her stutter wasn’t exactly due to crippling embarrassment.

 

Adrien blushed and rubbed the back of his neck as he swallowed what was left in his mouth. 

 

After the trio had walked in and interrupted Lila’s oh-so-smooth flirting, they joined forces to get Marinette to hang out with them for a while; at least until Nino decided to relinquish his phone to Adrien. They had to compromise in order for her to be satisfied with not working, and in the end, they’d all ended up drinking hot chocolate and eating macaroons as Marinette sketched on some old designs of hers.

 

_ “So much for forcing Miss Busybody to take a break.” Alya had whispered to Nino as the five sat down together. _

 

“Oh, sorry. I just-they’re  _ really  _ good.” Adrien accented, as if he was the only one who was truly appreciating the heavenly gift from God that was the Dupain-Cheng macaroons.

 

“I-It’s fine, r-really! I love y- _ them  _ too!” Marinette managed to stutter out, and Adrien chuckled in embarrassment, oblivious to Marinette’s screw up. Lila, however, had heard it. Which was why her face remained stiff and blank as the remains of a poor, innocent macaroon oozed out of the spaces of her fingers.

 

_ “Of course. Of course she has a crush on Adrien. Why would it be any other way? Why would the universe have it any other  _ freaking  _ way?” _

 

Alya and Nino nervously sipped their hot chocolate, looking very interested in the steam wafting through the opening of the lid as Adrien and Marinette attempted to flirt, and Lila looked like she was ready to murder.

 

“Ex- _ cuse  _ me!” An annoyingly high-pitched voice called out into the bakery, effectively clearing all thoughts of homicide and embarrassment from the atmosphere as it was replaced with a heavy coat of dread. Cue the laugh track, kids.

 

“I’m here to pick up my order of lime squares!” Chloé trilled, sauntering into the bakery with all bravado she was casually able to muster on the spot. Marinette pouted and watched as she leaned over the counter and talked loudly with her mother. If there was ever one thing she could be jealous of that Chloé had, it was her confidence. She just seemed okay with herself, you know? Unlike Marinette, who still didn’t feel like she was good enough to Ladybug, or a hero in general. Chloé snorted, a noise audible to everyone in the bakery, and everyone turned to her in shock. Marinette furrowed her eyebrows as she mircoanalyzed every single aspect of Chloé in that specific moment, because something was definitely off if Chloé just  _ laughed  _ within a 10 foot radius of Marinette’s presence.

 

_ “Confident stance? Annoying voice? Check. Same stupidly chic outfit? Check.”  _ Marinette began to list mentally what could possibly be different about Chloé. She stared at her face in concentration, and was surprised to see a strange kind of smile on her face; I mean, obviously, Chloé had smiled before, but this wasn’t a smirk, or a fake toothy grin she pulled around Adrien. This was a genuine, happy smile. Chloé looked  _ happy. _

 

“Oh my god.” Adrien said aloud, and Nino jumped across the table to cover his mouth in haste, much to Adrien’s surprise.

 

“Shh! Just hold on!” Nino hissed. Adrien rolled his eyes in disbelief. As if diving across a table wasn’t going to attract more attention than he was.

 

“Here you go, Miss Bourgeois.” Marinette’s mother chirped, though there was a hint of stiffness behind her smile. This was the girl that had made her daughter’s life hell since middle school, after all.

 

“Thank you!” Chloé sang, and just like that, she walked away. The five stared at her, mouths wide open, as Chloé  _ hummed  _ on her way out without a hint of malice in her manor. She pulled open the door, stepped out, and let the door close behind her slowly, the little bell on the door breaking the hush that had fallen over the group of teenagers. Nino dropped his hand from Adrien’s mouth allowing it to fall open just like theirs.

 

“She-”

 

“What just happened-?”

 

“Humming. She was humming-?”

 

“She’s stopped.” Adrien said incredulously. Everyone turned to him in confusion, and a light blush dusted his cheeks as he twiddled his thumbs.

 

“She was always….confident, self-assured as a kid. Very outgoing, you know? The opposite of me, really. She was the one who I kinda learned from when it came to behaving in the limelight.” Adrien reminisced. “And then Mayor Bourgeois put her in school, away from me, and it kind of hurt both of us. And then she just….started acting like a whole other person. She was kind and courageous, unafraid of authority or danger like I was before. Then she became the danger.”

 

Adrien sighed contently and closed his eyes, smiling as he took another sip of his new favorite drink.

 

_ “I’m definitely stopping by here before school every morning, calories be damned.”  _ Adrien thought to himself.

 

Marinette exhaled, drawing out a long stream of air as she slapped her hands into her lap.

 

“Wow. Just-wow. What do you think of what just happened though?” Marinette asked, turning to Adrien curiously as she slightly cocked her head. Both their breaths hitched, though neither one noticed.

 

“I-I think Chloé is beginning to let that awful persona go.” Adrien explained. Lila set down her cup and pursed her lips as she stared out the window, staring at the clouds that surrounded Paris in the distance.

 

“Alright. I’m in catatonic shock, and I’m sure all of you are too, so, uh,” Nino said, handing his phone to Adrien. “Here. Figured I’ve kept you waiting long enough.”

 

“Thank you so much, Nino.” Adrien said gratefully, grabbing the phone and standing up from the table to make his call. Marinette nudged Lila with her shoulder, startling her out of her daze.

 

“What do you think? I know you’ve only been at school, what, two days? But what do you think of what just happened with Chloé?”

 

Lila shrugged nonchalantly as she picked up her macaroon.

 

“Everyone deserves a second chance, I guess. Doesn’t sound like such a horrible thing to consider.” She said simply, and she took a bite, hoping she didn’t sound too bitter in her response.

 

Marinette nodded her head slowly, her gaze switching from the sight of Alya leaning on Nino’s shoulder and whispering furiously, and to Adrien, who was now at the corner of bakery, far enough to where she couldn’t make out what he was saying.

  
“Huh.” She hummed pensively as she grabbed what was left of the macaroons she had brought, and popped it in her mouth. “I guess not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is so short i'm so so sorry maybe some time i'll actually edit these chapters together and fix this mess but for now SEMESTER GRADES AWAIT
> 
> Update 4.17.16: Psst!!!!!! Go back to chapter 6 to see a surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!


	9. Raw Thoughts Come From The Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hearts, and the various things they do to people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't let me listen to Can't Sleep Love, Freaking Out, and Car Radio ever again

Marinette sighed, clutching her cool sheets close to chest and reveling in the high that seemed like would never die down. She shut the blinds on her window a while ago, but the full moon just seemed intent on shining its milky rays into her room. She didn’t mind that much, though. After the day she’d had, there was no chance of her getting any rest before she got to process it all.

 

Five new heroes, befriending Lila,  _ Adrien _ ….why would she need sleep anyways? The thought of Adrien’s actual genuine smile, his adorable stutters, and what she couldn’t believe was a  _ blush  _ on his cheeks made her heart soar. She laughed to herself softly and grabbed a loose pillow to her side and squeezed it tightly, imagining the best kinds of warm hugs-cozy hugs with Adrien, and the massive tackle-hug with her new team.

 

Adrien paced back and forth in his room, passing his windows over and over again until the interruptions of moonlight caused by his window frames became a dizzying pattern. It was something he was over-thinking, he was sure. But that voice...was exactly like hers. And the way she was acting today couldn’t have just been a coincidence. You don’t grow up playing hide and seek and having tea parties with the same girl since as long as you could remember without being able to recognize her voice in an instant. 

 

Adrien ran his hand through his hair and sighed, putting his hands on his hips as he turned to stare at the full moon. Whispered thoughts of a time long gone seeped into his mind, and memories of his father calling his mother “the sun to his moon” came back to him all at once. He had called her that as well, once upon a time, back when friendship was so much better than the icky kisses strangers at galas and shows expected them to share. She was the sun, a blazing, noticeable spirit, and he was the moon, there when she couldn’t be, when she needed him to be.

 

Adrien placed his hand the glass as he leaned his forehead onto the window and closed his eyes. He wasn’t absolutely sure, but there was no way for him to doubt it, either. But he knew better than to act on it right away; So, he would wait. Wait and sit on the fact that Queen Bee might be, in fact, Chloé Bourgeois.

 

Despite her better judgement(also known as Youya), Alya continued to text Nino about her adventures, the exhilaration of her first akuma attack as a hero still leaving her breathless when she remembered it once again. 

 

She set her phone down and looked up at her many posters of superheroes, several including her newest partners. The sudden thought of someone making a poster of her and putting it up, looking up to her as a role model to follow, hit her hard. Tears welled up in her eyes as she smiled widely, slowly getting out of bed to touch the poster of Ladybug jumping across Paris after an interview, one of the most famed shots ever taken of Paris’s protector. She touched it gently, and whispered to herself.

 

“Now I’m just like you.”

 

Chloé laughed aloud, gripping her hair in stress as the sense of it all came crashing into her all at once.

 

“The pigtails, the eyes-A-All of it! She was-And the way she smiled and talked-It’s her for sure!” Chloé cried, and she sat down onto her bed, head in hands.

 

Folle shrugged, sitting on her head nonchalantly. 

 

“Told you.”

 

“Why  _ did _ you have to tell me? How am I going to show my face at school tomorrow, pretending like I don’t know I’ve bullied Ladybug herself who knows how many times?!” Chloé whispered harshly as she clutched a pillow tightly to her chest. Folle rolled her eyes and patted Chloé’s head comfortingly.

 

“Like you would if you didn’t know. Just don’t exactly target her. You’ve gotten good enough at acting like a snob, so keep it up; this is just a bump in the road in the life of a Miraculous holder, honey. Reveals are a definite thing.”

 

Chloé huffed, sinking into her pillow in irritation. “I didn’t even recognize her until she smiled-because she was always mad around  _ Chlo _ é. _ ”  _ She sulked, and Folle sighed, flopping onto her back wearily.

 

Lila lay sound asleep, twitching every now and then as her dreams fluttered underneath her eyelids. Ocean blue eyes, soft delicate hands, a laugh that rang like wedding bells. Lila’s mouth twitched, a hint of a smile gone in a flash. 

 

That day counted the first time she’d been able to sleep before ten. It also the first time she had dreams she enjoyed having. Amazing day for firsts in her ordinary life, excluding the very obvious first of being a superhero earlier that day. Pygmy shifted in her sleep, dreams of tofu galore causing her to slightly drool in Lila’s fox tails.

  
  


Wayzz awoke with a start. A sick kind of dread bubbled up inside of him, and his eyes widened at the very apparent sound of his Master’s erratic breathing. With all his years of wisdom, nothing could have prepared him for this moment.

 

“ _ No.”  _ Wayzz thought fearfully.  _ “Not today. Not now.” _

 

Fu groaned, jerking awake and clutching his chest, and Wayzz zipped off of his chest in a panic.

 

“Master!” He exclaimed, floating down to his master’s strained face. Fu cleared his throat and smiled weakly at his kwami.

 

“Ah, what a strange feeling. It feels almost as if someone took my heart in their bare hands and squeezed.” He laughed lightly, only to wince in pain again, though he no longer had a smile on his face.

 

“Master, we need to get you to a-a healing center for your kind, o-or-!”

 

Master Fu simply waved off his kwami and nodded towards the new book he had started writing ever since he gave out the Ladybug Miraculous to Marinette. Wayzz trembled, refusing to accept the notion his master insinuated.

 

“No. I will summon the other holders. They-They can find a way to help you.” Wayzz said determinedly, and he closed his eyes and concentrated, hoping that the other kwami would be able to sense his distress call before it was too late.

 

“Oh, Wayzz. You know, despite all your talk of being the reasonable one between us two, you always have been stubborn in the face of reality. I have always cherished that.” Master Fu chuckled weakly. “But you know that I’ve grown far too old for Mother Nature to keep without looking like she was picking favorites. You and I have known this for a while. As for our new healer, well, most of what she needs to learn and know will be there for her, but the thoughts that I have been unable to put in ink, I trust you will explain.”

 

Master Fu reached up to his fiercely concentrated kwami and stroked his head one last time, and a peace flooded him, numbing the sudden spike of pain between his shoulder blades and calming him as he closed his eyes, a small, content smile on his face.

 

Wayzz whimpered, feeling the ever-present connection with his master fading rapidly, and he put all of his energy, all of his being, into that distress call. Logic didn’t matter anymore; all that mattered was his master.

 

Five kwami opened their eyes, startled and dazed. A distress call flooded them so much that they didn’t even notice the sinking feeling pulling on their insides at first, until they fully realized what was going on.

 

“Marinette! Marinette!” Tikki shouted, unwanted tears pouring out of her dark blue eyes as she shook her chosen’s arm.

 

“Oh no.” Plagg said aloud, causing Adrien to whip around.

 

“No. No no no no, this can’t be. Oh, Wayzz.” Youya whispered, before zipping over to Alya in a rush.

 

“Chloé, I need to you to stop worrying about your problems for a second, because we just got another really big, really bad one.” Folle said, her voice trembling.

 

“Lila! You must wake up, please! We need to help him!” Pygmy cried as she patted on Lila’s cheek.

 

“What’s wrong?” Five teenagers asked, worry and fear mixed into the question ,and they were all met with the same, horrible answer:

  
“The Grand Master is dying.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALL ACCORDING TO PLAN I SWEAR TO GOD I HAVE A REASON Don't kIl lm e


	10. Lead The Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> poor Fu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, okay. So uh, last week was HELL to get through. I had so much to do last week before spring break, that it wasn't even funny how sleep deprived I was. And then there's these Spring Break projects that I have to take care(Love you, Mrs. Hinojosa), so I still have a lot to do.
> 
> But hey, here's a chapter! Longer than the previous ones, shorter than I would like, but it's here!

_“I know you don’t want to, but please, if this really is the last time…” Tikki sobbed into her chosen’s shirt, and Marinette squeezed her tight._

 

_“No, I-I get it.” Marinette whispered as she slowly crawled out of bed. She swallowed, clenching her fists to hide the trembling that threatened to make her collapse._

 

_“I guess...I guess I was going to find out Chat’s identity anyways. Yeah, I’ll detransform for you, Tikki.”_

 

_Tikki looked up at her with teary eyes and whispered, “Thank you, Marinette.”_

 

The air seemed to be unusually thin as Ladybug shot across Paris’s moonlit streets; or that just could have been her shot and frazzled nerves.

 

What a day. It went from great, to amazing, to absolutely terrible in the small time span of twenty-four hours. And that was just with the news of Master Fu being in grave danger; if she made it in time, yes, that meant Tikki would have a chance to help Wayzz, but that also meant there was a chance that Chat Noir would see her for who she really was. It was absolutely dangerous, reckless, stupid even; so why was she doing this?

 

 _“For Tikki. And for Fu.”_ She scolded herself, and she thrust her arm out as she spotted the quaint little home Fu lived in in the distance. If Tikki herself finds this much more important than keeping her identity secret, then she would trust it was. Tikki had never led her astray before, and this was a dire situation.

 

Ladybug swallowed as she plummeted towards the ground and landed with a painless thump, and she burst into a sprint into the building. She willed her transformation to fall, and her bare feet slapped across hardwood floor as she ran through the building, hoping she had made it in time as Tikki led the way.

 

“Tikki!” Wayzz called, sounding exasperated but relieved. He floated out into the hallway Marinette was in and she skidded to a stop as Tikki looked at him expectantly. However, she did not wait for permission as she began to zip into the room, and would not have stopped until Wayzz floated in front of her.

 

“He-He has not gone yet, but is very, very close to death. I’m afraid-” Wayzz said, choking on his words.

 

“I’m afraid we can do nothing but wait.”

 

Tikki shut her eyes, refusing to accept this information, despite the heart-wrenching sobs leaving her little chest. Wayzz took her into a hug as they floated towards a eerily serene Master Fu laying on his mat. Marinette walked over, her throat refusing to open up, her lungs refusing to take in any air. Next to Fu’s head lay two books: the one that contained the history of all the Miraculi, and a strange, new one she’d never seen before.

 

“That one is for you, Ladybug.” Wayzz said, voice thick with emotion.

 

Marinette whipped around, eyes wide in surprise.

 

“F-For me? Wh-Why-?”

 

“The title of Grand Master is given to the one gifted with a Miraculous first and foremost, who inherits the responsibility of learning the art of healing-which keeps us kwami alive. When he-when he passes, that will be you.”

 

Marinette gasped and shook her head frantically.

 

“Oh no no no no, that-I am the least qualified person for this job. I-”

 

“Please, Marinette,” Tikki croaked, voice muffled as she stayed in Wayzz’s arms. “Just take the book.”

 

Marinette swallowed and grasped the book with a shaky hand. Tucking it under her arm without a second glance, she shifted her focus on the problem at hand.

 

“W-Well, we should get Fu to a hospital ASAP. We can focus on the book later. Uh, Tikki, transform-!”

 

“Master Fu!” A familiar voice shouted, and before Marinette had time to register any other thought than, _“Crap, I’m in my pajamas,”_ she saw a flash of green in the hallway, and she bolted behind the nearest hiding spot in a panic.

 

“Master Fu?” Chat Noir said softly, and Marinette stiffened as a flash of red zipped to her side.

 

“Wayzz, how is he?” A strange voice asked, and Marinette was tempted to peek from behind the credenza to see where it came from.

 

“Critical, Plagg. His connection with me is fading,” Wayzz sighed wearily. “I fear that I will not be able to stay here any longer as well.”

 

“Don’t say that!” Chat said, and Marinette could hear his feet shuffling closer to where she was. She clenched her teeth and tensed.

 

“Wayzz, if you’re still here, then that means Fu has a fighting chance. Maybe if Ladybug were here-?”

 

“If Ladybug were here, she would be able to do nothing to help. Master Fu needs a human healer, as we need him to be ours.”

 

Marinette heard Chat sigh. “Then we need to get him to a hospital immediately.”

 

“Tikki,” Marinette breathed, and she felt her kwami shuffle against her shirt. Marinette knew that Chat was going to need her help weaving throughout the city without drawing too much attention, and to carry Fu as safely as possible; so she would have to give up her hiding spot and face her fears.

 

“Transforme moi.”

 

She was engulfed in a radiant pink light, and in an instant, she was back in costume. It only took a second for Chat Noir to have hopped in front of her to check the source of the sudden burst of magic, and she looked down the moment she caught sight of his sweats.

 

 _“Oh no, oh no, oh no,”_ Ladybug thought in a panic. _“He’s not in costume. This is Chat out of his costume and if I look up I might find out who he is and I cannot_ DO _this.”_

 

“M-My lady!” Chat stammered. “I didn’t know you were back here! Do you want me to transform, or?” He asked awkwardly. Ladybug squeezed her eyes shut and nodded, grasping around for the edge of the credenza, and pushed herself up.

 

“Once you transform, we’ll get Fu to the nearest hospital, okay?” Ladybug said.

 

“Okay. Plagg, transforme moi!” Chat shouted, and Ladybug’s eyelids tinted green for a split second, and she opened them to find her partner looking at her sheepishly.

 

“Oh, and sorry about just barging in. There was just an emergency distress call, and I didn’t even think of you being out of costume.”

 

Ladybug waved him off and smiled at him wearily. “No problem, chaton. It was for my kwami, so it wasn’t too much of a bother.”

 

Ladybug walked over to Fu and quickly scooped him up, gently slung him over her shoulder, and faced Chat, nodding her head towards the exit.

 

“Can you look up the nearest hospital on your staff?” Ladybug queried as they began to sprint out of the house, Wayzz following close behind. Chat flicked the top of his staff up to reveal his communicator and tapped around, eyes widening as he smiled in relief.

 

“Yeah, and I also can find a bunch of homeless shelters, daycares, and stuff like that. Wow, did you know we could that?” Chat Noir asked as they sprinted out of the cozy home and into the crisp night air. Ladybug shook her head and laughed nervously.

 

“Uh, no. That was just a grab at straws, if I’m going to be honest.” Ladybug admitted. She shifted Fu on her shoulder. “Though it’s really useful if we have to help civilians out through any particularly nasty disasters. Oh, where is the hospital?”

 

“Uh, about two blocks from here in….this direction.” Chat said, pointing above the roof of the home and beyond. Ladybug sighed and pursed her lips.

 

“You’re either going to have to carry both Fu and I, or I’m going to have to use Lucky Charm.” She said wearily. Their options were limited, and they had little time to get Fu some care before they were left with even _worse_ dilemma. It only took her a moment for her to discard the idea of Chat having to carry two people around, even if it was only for two blocks, and shouted, “Lucky Charm!”

 

She held out her hands, and should not have been as surprised as she was when an adult sized baby carrier felt right into them.

 

“But his feet will drag if either of us carry him. How are we going to manage to lug him across rooftops with causing possible further damage?” Ladybug asked her partner in frustration. Chat stared at the baby carrier pensively, and the two began to brainstorm intensely, hoping to find a solution as soon as possible. They were so intent on finding a way to solve their problem, that they did not hear the calls of their other teammates from afar.

 

“We need to just get right up to them,” Renardyne said in frustration after their many failed attempts to get their leaders’ attention. Pava’s shoulders slumped, and Queen Bee shrugged in agreement.

 

“Yeah, we need to find out what that distress call was about.” Pava sighed. “Come on, ladies, we’ve got a mission to complete.”

 

The three heroes had met up by chance, following where they felt the pull of the distress call the most. After finally reaching what felt like its center, they found their leaders talking amongst each other while Ladybug had a civilian slung over their shoulder.

 

Ladybug jumped as a hand rested on her shoulder without warning, and she looked around wildly, whipping the baby carrier around in the process.

 

“Whoa, whoa, Bug! It’s just us!” Pava said, her voice friendly as it remained hushed. Renardyne recoiled away from Ladybug, her hand up in the air in defense, and Queen Bee hid behind Pava nervously.

 

Ladybug relaxed, and heard Chat Noir laugh softly behind her.

  


“Guess we’re still getting used to the whole ‘team of 5’ thing,” He whispered sheepishly. Queen Bee shrugged, eyes flicking towards Ladybug and back to Chat Noir.

 

“It’s okay, Chat,” Queen Bee murmured. Chat looked at her with slight surprise, and she shrunk under his suddenly intense gaze.

“B-But we were all here because of a, uh, distress call? Or at least, that’s what my kwami said, she said something about a grand master-?”

 

“Oh, yeah! We need to get Grand Master Fu to the hospital ASAP,” Ladybug said, the seriousness of the situation evident in her tone as she explained the details. “He’s always been the healer of our kwamis whenever their energies have been corrupted, and he’s who gave all of your your Miraculous in the first place. Now, he’s really ill, and if we don’t get him to a hospital soon, we might lose him.”

 

Pava sucked in a breath through her teeth. “Wow. This job got intense real quick.”

 

Renardyne nodded her head in agreement, and turned to a grave Ladybug who seemed lost in thought.

 

“Yeah, seems like we don’t have much time. So what’s the plan, Ladyboss?”

 

Ladybug snapped out of her daze and turned to Queen Bee, unaware of the fact that she had just ignored Renardyne. She tossed the baby carrier towards her, and Queen Bee scrambled to catch it.

 

“Put it on. Your flying ability makes you the only one that can get Master Fu to the hospital without injuring him any further. Pava, you and I will stick close behind to make sure that nothing goes wrong. Chat, give your communicator to Renardyne and tail her. She’s going to lead the way,” She said, facing her partner confidently. He nodded in understanding and placed his staff in Renardyne’s hand, who looked at Ladybug as in bewilderment.

 

“Me? Lead?” She asked her in disbelief. Ladybug sighed as she helped Queen fasten on the baby carrier holding the ill Fu without interfering with her wings.

 

“Yes, you. You have to be quick to sneak behind me without me knowing, and we need to know how to get to the hospital ASAP. Here we go.”

 

A faint click broke the tense atmosphere, and the buzzing of Queen Bee’s wings cut through the air.

 

“Ready to go, team?” Ladybug said. In unison, her teammates nodded, and the five set off into the night, Renardyne free of all hesitation as she sped ahead, hopping across rooftops at impossible speeds while trying to make sure Chat Noir didn’t lose sight of her. Queen Bee flew behind them, accelerating at a quicker pace than she expected to while holding another person.

 

 _“Plus, I feel so radiant and powerful when I’m in this suit; Botox and steroids don’t have_ anything _on this,”_ Queen Bee thought as she glanced down at the nearby Ladybug and Pava across each other as they maintained their position under her.

 

“She sees it!” Chat shouted, and Ladybug looked up at Queen Bee carrying the comatose Fu in worry.

 

“I hope we aren’t too late,” She whispered under her breath.

 

“Hey, if the Grand Master-Or was his name Fu?-anyways, if he falls, do you really think we’re going to catch him? Because there’s a split second chance to catch him if he does fall, and, not that I don’t trust you, the chances of us saving him are slim to none. It’s pretty much impossible.”

 

Pava then stopped, and tapped her chin pensively before jumping over a chimney.

 

“I think.”

 

Ladybug laughed airily, ignoring her stress for the moment. “Don’t worry, I’ll make a lucky catch.”

 

“I heard that!” Chat Noir shouted from ahead. “That was a pun! I can’t believe it!”

 

Ladybug groaned as she heard Pava bust into a fit of laughter, almost losing her rhythm as she slipped off the roof and shot out a stream of ink to catch herself. Ladybug could hear soft giggling ahead, and smiled to herself, despite the fact that she was the object of ridicule.

 

“Oh! H-Hey, Ladybug, I can see the hospital!” Queen Bee called out, and Ladybug shifted her focus to the upcoming illuminated hospital.

 

“Where’s the emergency, Chat?” Ladybug called out.

 

“To you left, as soon as the rooftop ends!” He replied. Ladybug watched an orange blur zip ahead of him, and his staff was tossed to him from it before disappearing behind the building ahead. Chat extended his staff and saluted to Ladybug before jumping down, and Ladybug gripped her yo-yo in her right hand, preparing for her descent.

 

“You hear that, Bee?” Ladybug shouted up.

 

“Yeah! Yeah, I got it!” She replied, and Ladybug turned to a determined Pava who had her quill ready in hand.

  
Ladybug nodded her head in approval, and Ladybug sprinted to the end of the building, thrust her yo-yo out into the air, and leapt off the edge of roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am hoping to get some work done by tomorrow, that way I can see if I can get another chapter out by this weekend!❤❤❤❤❤❤


	11. Motivational Speech Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has to carry the world on her shoulders, and Fu can hardly feel his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for not updating in like, 87 years, it's just near the end of the year so all I managed to write was this with the little burst of motivation I had. Sorry and you're welcome.

“Let’s see now, The nurse said to himself, tapping on his clipboard as he stood next to his current patient.

 

“Admitted a week ago, Coronary angioplasty three days ago...and he’s already being considered for release?” The nurse asked himself, perplexed. As he heard his patient’s breathing change, however, the strangeness of this man’s health was waved off, and the nurse put on a friendly smile.

 

“Monsieur Fu? Can you hear me?”

The old man stirred, but his eyes did not open. A groan escaped his lips, and a long sigh was drawn out of him.

 

“Good day, Monsieur Fu.” The nurse said. “Do you feel any better?”

 

Fu finally opened his eyes, ever so slightly, and gave his nurse a weak smile.

 

“I feel like my chest has been run over. By a semi-truck. Carrying steel beams.”

 

The nurse laughed and patted his clipboard. “Yes well, you have been in quite the predicament, I’ve heard. Good thing you’ve gotten such a good sleep; three days sounds comatose like a dream.”

 

Fu chuckled softly and raised a his hand slightly in dismissal. “A little bit of overkill for just a heart attack. This body may just be giving out on me yet, however.” He said in resignation. The nurse sent him a sympathetic smile and lifted the paper, in hopes of finding notes left behind from the secretary of guests visited while he was in ICU. His eyes widened to find several post-its of all kinds of colors stuck to the back, stating the names of the same three people over and over again.

 

“My, my, monsieur. You seem to have such caring relatives and friends. It says here that a few people by the name of…Marinette, Lila, and Alya have been anxious to see if you’re alright. You’ve even gotten visits from-”

 

Fu smirked to himself as he watched the nurse’s eyes widen in disbelief, snatching two post-its off of the board, one green, one yellow.

 

“Adrien Agreste? And Chloé Bourgeois?” The nurse said in astonishment. He turned to face the kind old man, who simply shrugged. The nurse exhaled slowly and ran his hands through his hair, shaking his head as he began to walk  over to Fu’s IV drip.

 

“You must be one special man to have such friendly and esteemed children looking up to you so. What else are you hiding? Is this Marinette a world class artist? Is this Lila a model herself? What about this Alya, are you friends with a wildly famous internet sensation?”

 

Fu laughed, his voice raspy as his lighthearted chuckle rumbled in his chest. “They are children that I simply guide at times. It just so happens that two of them have prestigious worldly titles, is all.”

 

The nurse tsked, replacing the drip for a fresh one. “‘Just so happens.’ It’s pure luck that you are here today, humbly downplaying your status for me, Monsieur. I’m sure coincidence isn’t something that happens often in your lifetime.”

 

“Fu?” A voice called out softly. The two men turned to the room door to find an inquiring young lady with jet black hair and pleasant blue eyes gazing at Fu.

 

The nurse smiled at the girl and waved her in. “Come right on in, mademoiselle. You’ve been waiting to talk to this patient long enough, so it seems.”

 

“O-oh, thank you!” The girl replied graciously, and she hurried to Fu’s side, concern draping over her brief sense of relief.

 

“Bonjour, ma coccinelle.” Fu greeted, flipping his resting hand over to face palm up. Marinette took his hand and smiled warmly at him.

 

“Bonjour, Mast-Fu! Bonjour, Fu.” Marinette recovered, and she winced slightly as she noticed the nurse furrowing his eyebrows in confusion at her stutter. She cleared her throat.

 

“Marinette, what a lovely surprise.” Fu said quietly, giving her a warm smile. Marinette relaxed as Fu’s welcome seemed to put the nurse at ease, and he left with only a raised eyebrow and his eyes fixed onto a pile of sticky notes at the bottom of his clipboard. Marinette finally returned Fu’s smile and pulled up a nearby stool to sit near her mentor.

 

“I trust you brought the book with you, Ladybug?” Fu asked simply, and Marinette looked at him with surprised.

 

“Even though I hadn’t passed, I’m sure Wayzz made sure to give the book to you anyways.” Fu said. His eyes lost a little bit of their sparkle as he finished his thought, and he let out a heavy sigh.

 

“This body of mine is getting old, Marinette. You know it. Wayzz knows it. I may have a bit more time thanks to my bond with Wayzz, but I cannot risk another incident leaving you stranded in your education of becoming the next Grand Master.”

 

“B-But I hardly-you don’t even know if I have what it takes!” Marinette reasoned, clutching the tote bag that held her book and her kwami.

 

Fu smiled at her sympathetically and laid a hand on resting hand she had on the bed rail. The two sat silently for what seemed like an eternity, the quiet hum and beeps of the heart monitor and the muffled sounds of the nurses outside the door the only sound in that moment.

 

“I’m sorry for having thrust you into this world of danger, Marinette.” Fu said quietly. “You have what it takes, but sometimes I feel guilty for having shifted your world upside-down. You have such a tender heart. But you must understand that this is all for the greater good. Along with being the most powerful of all the Miraculous holders, you must also bear the title of Grand Master, and learn to handle all the responsibility the name entails.”

 

Marinette bit her lip and looked at the linoleum tiles beneath her.

 

“The Miraculous holders look up to you as a leader. But the bond between you all will not end there. You must face danger together, fight evil together; you will all take the world on together. You are a family now, and therefore, you must think of yourself as an elder sibling. One that must think of the well-being of your other siblings, and who must make the hard decisions when no one else can. It has never been an easy path for you, Marinette. But that’s why I chose you.”

 

Marinette looked up at her mentor with teary eyes, only to be met with a comforting gaze.

 

“Because no matter what hardships you may face in your life, no matter how hesitant you are to stand up and fight, in the end, you face them with unwavering courage.”

 

Silence returned the the room again, but this time, it was welcome. With shaky hands, Marinette pulled the book out of her bag, the small, leathery cover smooth against her fingertips as she rested it on her lap. Still staring at the cold hospital floor, Marinette whispered,

  
“What should I know first?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will I update in the near future? Probably not. Will I try? Probably(not).


	12. Out of Commission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are two kinds of bugs affecting Lila now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I really should have made this longer, but I need to read the entirety of "A Tale of Two Cities" by this Tuesday, and I should probably get started on that. But hey, my school year ends next week, so I definitely should have a lot more time to write during this summer! So basically, you can expect better quality and longer chapters then! Until then though, I hope you enjoy this new update<3

“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I would think you were hated us or something!” Chat shouted as he extended his staff and launched himself over the duo of akumas before them.

 

Identical twin brothers, hopelessly intertwined by being each other’s copy, doomed to be one identity until the end of time; or until one of them dies, at least. Ladybug guessed that that was what had caused them to become akumatized in the first place. The two akumas were colored the exact opposite of the other; blue splattered where orange was splattered on the other, red splattered where green was on the other. They wielded long hammers that glittered with every color imaginable, as long as it was the opposite of their sibling’s current color. 

 

“We are Gem and Ini, complete opposites that wreak all kinds of destruction!” Gem shouted as he smashed his golden hammer on the stone road. It cracked on impact, and caused cars to swerve and slam on their breaks in alarm. Ini put his thumbs up in approval, hefting his silver hammer onto his shoulder..

 

“Hell yeah. So, uh, Ladybug and Chat Noir, give us your Miraculi. Or else we’ll wreck your asses with our sick-ass hammers.”

 

Ladybug rolled her eyes, and Chat scoffed.

 

“First of all, you guys are matching with your complete opposite thing. And hammers? Really? That’s like, the most basic weapon ever. And that’s coming from the guy who uses a  _ staff. _ ”

 

Gem growled. “We’re not matching! Everything about us is different!”

 

“You’re just opposites with your suits, though.” Ladybug piped up, swinging her yo-yo at Ini, who easily dodged it with a tumble to his left. 

 

“Exactly. And your suits don’t change the fact that you’re identical twins, either.” Chat said. 

 

Gem huffed and swung his hammer at him violently, only to miss as Chat ducked and whacked his right leg with his staff. He yelped in pain and hopped away, barely able to dodge Ladybug’s attempt to lasso him with her yo-yo. He grunted and gripped his hammer tightly, clenching his teeth.

 

“Ini, can you please bash his face in for me? I’m busy trying to squish a certain bug!” Gem shouted as he swung his hammer with full force towards Ladybug. Ladybug jumped into the air, landed on the hammer, and launched herself forwards, soaring over Gem and thrusting her yo-yo towards a furious Ini that was inches away from making Chat a cat pancake. She let the yo-yo whip around the hammer, and yanked as hard as she could, which sent the hammer flying off into the Seine before the brothers could blink an eye.

 

Gem cursed under his breath as Ini whipped around and looked at Ladybug incredulously, as if she hadn’t just disarmed a hostile enemy, but she had just taken his phone out of his hands. 

 

“Bro, what the hell?” He said, his tone only hinting the slightest annoyance towards Ladybug.

 

“Aw man, are we dealing with dudebro akuma today or something?” A voice said, and Ladybug glanced at the ground next to her to find a streak of black goo connecting the the building next to her. Pava tiptoed down, the rubbery rope bouncing beneath her as she pranced along it. She hopped off and thrust her quill into it like a dart, and it sucked up the ink in an instant.

 

“No, twin akuma. Gem and Ini. To your right, Pava!”

 

Pava yelped as the two girls ducked under the violent swing of Gem’s hammer, and Ladybug could feel the wind of the hammer on her skin. She grit her teeth and grabbed Pava’s hand before swinging out her yo-yo.

 

“Aw damn, LB, as much as I’d love to publicly display affection with you, I’m already in a relationsh-Oh shit!”

 

Ladybug snorted, ignoring Pavas surprised yelp as they shot through the sky. The wind rushed through her ears, and Ladybug could barely make out the metallic clank of Chat’s baton as the roof she expected to land on rushed closer and closer. She braced herself and felt the jolt of the landing through her legs, and she let out a frustrated sigh as she let Pava go and turned around, looking at the twin akumas in distaste while noticing Chat Noir make it safely onto the roof next to her.

 

“What are we gonna do, Bug?” Chat shouted as he started to sprint towards them. Ladybug crossed her arms and turned to Pava.

 

“Did you see any of the others on their way here?” She asked. Pava shook her head.

 

“It’s just me right now, I guess. But can’t we like, somehow talk or communicate between teammates?” Pava asked. “I mean, there’s gotta be someway you and Chat Noir communicate during an akuma attack, right?”

 

Ladybug snapped her fingers and grabbed her yo-yo, swiping the right side of it up to reveal her communicator. Pava gasped and grabbed Ladybug’s shoulders, leaning over to gawk at her device. Ladybug smiled as she saw a list of icons on her screen, instead of the usual dialing signal that automatically registered when she opened her yo-yo. Each icon was a symbol of a currently activated Miraculous, so her unique contact list was filled with four icons: a green paw print, a peacock’s tail feathers fanned out, a fox tail, and cute little bee. 

 

“That’s awesome, Bug! It works on my staff, too!” Chat exclaimed giddily, staring at his staff with a big grin. He tapped on it and glanced at Pava mischeviously, and the two girls started to the sound of a chirping from Pava’s side. She let go of Ladybug’s shoulders and grabbed her quill, to find the hollow bone pulsing with light, with a line shining at the base of the feather. She carefully thumbed over it, and gasped with delight as the bone slightly snapped open, and released a projection of Chat Noir onto the feather. 

 

“What’s new, pussycat?” Pava greeted, which was met with a sigh from Ladybug and laughter from Chat.

 

“Alright, so now we know we can reach you guys if we split up. Let’s just hope we can reach Queen Bee and Renardyne, and that they’re just on their way. Pava, Chat, you mind calling them for me? I need to keep a tail on Gem and Ini before we lose them for good.”

 

A crash thundered before she could hear their answers, followed by cackles and elated shouts from the akumas on the rampage.

 

“Yeah, you do that. I’ll call Bee, he’ll call Foxy.” Pava said. Chat hummed in agreement.

 

“Be careful, my Lady.” He said.

 

Ladybug nodded gratefully at her teammates and swung her yo-yo out, following the sound of the destruction being caused to find Hawkmoth’s current trouble makers.

 

Lila coughed again, her sore chest groaning wearily as she took another shaky breath, exhaling slowly as she pulled the cool sheets above her head. A congested sniffle and the shaking of her feverish body gave her no doubt about it; she had gotten sick. 

 

“And on the weekend too, huh, piccolo?” Her father crooned as he handed the thermometer to his husband. 

 

“Mm.” Lila hummed underneath her sheets, laying perfectly still as a sympathetic Pygmy curled up against the side of her head.

 

“We should schedule an appointment for her, Francesco. She may have bronchitis. Or pneumonia. Or  _ worse _ ,” Her other father said, gripping the thermometer in concern. Francesco tutted, rubbing Lila’s forehead from above the sheets.

 

“She probably only has a cold. The rainy weather must have gotten to her. Come on, Vanni, give me the number to the hospital.”

 

Her father nodded at his husband and walked over to Lila, pulling the sheet down. Lila tensed with panic, but Pygmy simply hid inside of her hair, hidden from view. 

 

“Get some rest, okay?” Her father whispered, before planting a gentle kiss on her forehead and following his husband, his fretting audible even as he shut her door.

 

Lila thrust the sheet off of her body in frustration, and Pygmy rolled out of her tangled hair with a pout.

 

“Little Lila, you really should get some sleep,” she yawned, stretching herself out and curling her tail. Lila fell into a coughing fit before being able to answer her Kwami, and she cleared her throat angrily and groped her dresser in search of her phone. Her heated skin met cool glass, and she grabbed her phone and turned it on, opening her eyes ever so slightly to check the screen.

 

Her notifications had blown up with Marinette’s texts, which was understandable; the two had been texting non-stop since they had met just a few days before, and her sudden disappearance may have made it look like Lila had dropped off the face of the earth. Twelve messages, the first few consisting of missed greetings, the other of random conversation topics Marinette had brought up in attempt to start a conversation with an absent Lila. She smiled, closing her eyes and setting the phone on her chest with a sigh.

 

“I guess so. But what if there’s an akuma attack today?” Lila croaked out. Her kwami smiled at her and patted her head.

 

“Do you want to transform for a second to see if the others are activated?”

 

Lila knit her eyebrows in conclusion, eyes still closed. “I can do that? How?”

 

Pygmy giggled and floated above her chosen’s head, plopping down on the the space between her eyebrows and leaning onto her nose. 

 

“Find out, little Lila!”

 

Lila opened her eyes and sighed at her kwami, giving her a small smile before weakly saying, “ _ Transforme moi.”  _

 

A burst of light shrouded her vision, and she lazily blinked the spots out of her eyes as the weakness in her body eased, though only slightly. She sat upright, yawning as she pulled out her fan from her waist, and froze as she heard a sudden, loud beeping noise. She looked at her fan in surprised to find the wooden nail holding the two wooden strips that made up the frame of the fan flashing with an orange glow, and she shoved the fan into her bed, muffling the erratic sound it was emitting. It had no effect, however, and she whipped it open in a panic, to find that the usual orange paper that would extend with traces of its folded ridges was replaced with screen, and showed the face of a grinning Chat Noir.

 

“Renardyne, glad to see you’ve figured out how to use your communicator! And looks like you’re ready for action, too!” He exclaimed gleefully. Renardyne smirked weakly.

 

“Actually, about that…” She croaked out, and the obvious raspiness of her voice caused Chat’s smile to fall. 

 

“Oh no, are you sick?” He said, voice filled with concern. Renardyne shrugged.

 

“A little. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, though.” She said with a teasing lilt in her voice. “I feel better when I’m in the suit. I’ll come over-”

 

“Whoa whoa whoa, let me stop you there, rookie.” Chat interrupted. “The suit and your Kwami’s magic is always going to enhance your current condition, but after you detransform? You’ll feel like you belly-flopped on a frozen lake. Trust me, Ladybug and I learned this the hard way. You should just stay there and get some rest.”

 

“But what will Ladyboss say? And don’t we all need to be there to help her defeat the new kinds of akumas that are coming her way?” Renardyne protested nasally, sniffling slightly as she finished.

 

Chat Noir rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Well, you would definitely be useful if you were able to help. We have twin akumas this time, and a- _ pair- _ ently, they’re  _ double  _ the trouble we usually face during akuma attacks.” He said, grinning mischievously as he waited for his puns to gain a reaction.

 

Renardyne laughed through her nose, eyes drooping as they grew tired of staring at the screen. She yawned once again, closing her eyes for a second to let them recuperate.

 

“Anyways, get some rest,” Chat said. “I’ll tell Ladybug you’re out of commision for now, and we’ll figure something out. Don’t worry about it either, alright?”

  
“Mhm,” she hummed, eyes still closed. She heard Chat laugh and bid her farewell, and the glow of the screen seeping through her eyelids faded. She opened them slightly and closed her fan, and felt her transformation wear off. Pygmy landed on the bed with a soft thump and floated towards Lila’s pillow. She patted it welcomingly and smiled at her chosen, who gratefully flopped onto it and began to snore just a few minutes later, her aching body gratefully sinking into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @Chloe: where you at tho


	13. Miss Bourgeois

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsk, tsk, tsk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a poor excuse for an update and i am soRRY i just had no wifi for like a week and a half and it was terrible and ive also got two AP summer assignments, so yeah. Help
> 
> but I'll try my best to update with longer chapters!

Chat Noir hummed, closing his communicator and spinning his staff as turned to  frustrated Pava, who was scratching her head in confusion.

 

“Queen Bee doesn’t seem to be transformed. I click the little bee, but it’s faded, like she’s not available.” She said, snapping the bone of her quill shut. Chat frowned.

 

_ “Chloé didn’t seem sick the last time I saw her.”  _ Chat thought to himself. _ “Maybe she just doesn’t know an akuma attack is happening? But how could she not? Unless she was out...”  _

 

“Uh, Pava? Call Ladybug and go help her. I’ll be right back.” Chat said, and he extended his staff and launched himself into the air, landing on the roof of the house across from them.

 

“Wh-Chat Noir! Where are you going?” Pava shouted after him, but he did not respond, only growing smaller as he rushed into the distance.

 

“Ugh. This whole secrecy thing Ladybug and Chat Noir got going on seemed cool at first, but now it’s just giving me a headache,” Pava said, her voice monotone as she irritatedly snapped the bone of her quill back open, and tapped the ladybug icon.

 

“I feel so independent right now, Folle,” Chloé gushed, stroking another layer of nail polish on her toenails. Folle hummed, resting on the bed next to her chosen with two slices of cucumbers over her eyes.

 

“Yeah, even though getting them done looks a lot better, every chosen I’ve had gets a kick out of doing it themselves.” She said lazily, stroking the silky comforter on Chloe’s bed.

 

“Yeah, I feel like an artist right now! Now I can see why Picasso loved it so much.”

 

Folle lifted a cucumber slice from her eye and smirked. “Picasso was an acclaimed painter that made cubism pieces.”

 

“Tomato, toh-mah-toe.”

 

Folle laughed as she placed the cucumber back on her face, and Chloe hummed contently as she stroked the baby blue nail polish onto her toes. She pulled out white and yellow nail polish as she blew on the nail she had just finished, and grabbed the dotter. She unscrewed the top of the white nail polish, thinking of the daisy designs she wanted to create on her miniature canvases, when she faltered, a strange thought striking her suddenly.

 

“Folle?” Chloé asked, hesitation seeping into her voice.

 

“What’s up, honey?” Folle replied lazily. 

 

“Do you think Lady-Marinette would want to do something like this with me?” she asked pensively, and the silence between them grew thick with Chloé’s insecurities. Chloé began to regret asking her kwami such a question, until Folle cleared her throat and hummed pensively.

 

“Well, I think you have a little ways to go before you start doing makeovers with Marinette,” Folle answered finally. Chloé sighed, pouring some white nail polish on the foil she set out on her bed.

 

“Yeah, I know. But do you think she’d ever want to do something like this? Friend stuff?”

 

“I’m sure she would, Chloé. And  I mean that, too,” she said, pulling off her cucumber slices to face Chloé.

 

“You may see me as conceited and shallow, along with all the other kwami, but I know humans better than the rest of them; they’re complex creatures, and their magic, in a sense...  is a subtle kind. They have language and signals and actions that all tie together to create all kinds of emotions, all kinds of events, and eventually, they’re able to shape their own lives, smoothly and daily. It’ll take time, and though us kwami do have more of that than you humans do, you all seem to do something we don’t you all take advantage of it. The fact that you’re taking advantage of the knowledge that someone in your life has been wronged by you to try and reconcile with her is fascinating, extraordinary even, and I know without a doubt that your efforts will not be in vain. And that?” she finished, “That’s a miracle in itself.”

 

Chloé blinked, dumbfounded by the wisdom her kwami held. Folle sniffed the cucumber slice in her hand and frowned.

 

“You got any more lime squares, Chloé?”

 

“Shit!” A voice shouted, and the sound of a figure running into the glass doors leading to her balcony startled the two. There was no shattering of glass, but the loud thump the figure had caused was still alarming. As Chloé searched wildly for its source,  Folle flew under Chloé’s cardigan and whispered, “It’s Chat Noir!”

 

“What? What’s he doing here?” Chloé asked incredulously, before another string of cursing caught her attention. She gulped, standing up slowly and creeping towards her balcony doors to find her teammate hopping around, face scrunched up in pain as he rubbed his left arm over and over. Chloé rushed over to the doors and slid them open, face full of concern as she stepped out on to the balcony.

 

“Hey, are you okay?”

 

Chat whipped around at her, eyes wide and body completely frozen as they made eye contact. Chloé felt her anxiety bubble up, and was filled with dread as her terrible mask began to form.

 

“Well, I sure hope you are, after you had such a great time smashing into my glass doors.” She said in irritation. “Though it wouldn’t have been so fun if you had broken them, since I’m sure you don’t have nearly enough money to pay for  _ that  _ kind of damage.”

 

“And a _b_ _onne apres-midi_ to you too, Miss Bourgeois.” Chat Noir said with a smile, his body relaxing.


	14. Using Honey, Not Vinegar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short but sweet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the shortest chapter I will ever post on this website. I apologize in advance. But you can bet that I'm working on this fic for the long haul, so just bear with me as I struggle to juggle two AP summer assignments my mother wants me to finish by the end of July and every other passion project I've got in the works.

Chloé huffed, crinkling her nose. “It’s just you? Where’s Ladybug?”

 

“Ladybug is currently handling an _akuma_. Two, actually,” Chat said carefully, turning to look off the balcony. His eyes, however, remained on Chloé.

 

 _“Oh, shit,”_ Chloé mentally panicked. _“Shit, shit, shit. Does he know I’m Queen Bee? Did Ladybug send him here to yell at me for not knowing there was an akuma today?_ Two _akumas? Oh no, they need all the help they can get, and I’m just here painting my nails and-”_

 

“But don’t you worry, Miss Bourgeois. The situation will soon be all under control.” Chat Noir said with a smile as he turned to face her once again. “Ladybug and I are just waiting on some helping hands, is all. Or, more accurately, I’m looking for helping hands while Ladybug stalls for time.”

 

Chloé snorted, which made Chat grin even wider. He bowed slightly with a dramatic flair.

 

“So, if you’ll forgive me from interrupting your peaceful afternoon, I’ll be getting back to my superhero scavenger hunt.”

 

Chloé tilted her head curiously, a sense of deja vu nagging at the back of her head at his strange actions. She crossed her arms and huffed, rolling her eyes at her teammate’s frivolity.

 

“Whatever. Go save Paris and stuff.”

 

Chat Noir laughed and stood back up, shaking his head.

 

“Alright. See you later, Miss Bourgeois!” He said, before jumping onto the ledge of her balcony and allowing his staff to shoot him into the air. Chloé sighed, closing her eyes and slumping down to the ground. Follé zipped out of her cardigan and looked at her worriedly.

 

“Chloé? What’s wrong?”

 

“I’m-I feel like I shouldn’t be a hero,” She groaned miserably. “I’m so mean and nasty to other people when I get scared. That’s not what heroes do, right? So why do I do that?”

 

Follé rolled her eyes and patted her head. “You know it’s your self defense mechanism.”

 

“But why do I subconsciously believe being a jerk is the best way to protect myself?” Chloé asked. Follé shrugged.

 

“Well, I can’t really answer that without learning a little more about you, but right now, I think it’s just because you don’t really know any other way how to.”

 

Chloé closed her eyes, rest her head back against the glass doors, and nodded.

 

“Maybe.”

 

They sat there in comfortable silence, allowing Chloé to relax. Follé had dealt with only one chosen that had something similar to Chloé’s condition, where there was just no way you could prevent them from overthinking and tearing themselves down. It was a young girl that suffered from having to keep much too much from her own parents, from the obvious secret life as a hero to her gender, which she really was only able to express as Queen Bee. She was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, however, and had gotten treatment to help. Follé knew that Chloé wasn’t fortunate enough to have understanding parents like her previous chosen. So all Chloé really had, despite all the designer clothes she could want and every new technology the world could offer, was Follé.

 

Follé smiled at her sympathetically. “Come on, let’s go help out the team.”

 

Chloé opened her eyes and looked at her hesitantly, before looking down at her feet and sighing.

  
“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just want her to be happy


	15. Sting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the meek finds a little bit of courage.

_ “No, not there. Please just turn. Just let our school catch a break for  _ once _ ,” _ Ladybug pleaded silently as she watched Gem and Ini dash towards Francois Dupoint College from the side of the school. She groaned in frustration as Ini smashed open the front doors with his hammer, and let her shoulders slump as the two gleefully rushed inside. sighing briefly before taking after them. She muttered under her breath, frustration apparent in her tone as she followed shortly after the twin akuma.

 

“L-Ladybug?”

 

Ladybug whipped around to find Queen Bee right behind her, and the two jumped back, equally startled by each other’s presence. 

 

“Oh, Queen Bee!” Ladybug said. She gave her teammate a relieved smile, and Queen Bee began to relax from her frightened composure.

 

“Thank  _ goodness _ you’re here. You wouldn’t believe how crazy this day’s been for me.” Ladybug started. “I mean, I am so close to losing it right now. For starters, it’s always this school Hawkmoth targets!” She exclaimed, thrusting her arms out to point at the school’s destroyed entrance. “Always! Isn’t that such a weird pattern? Isn’t that such an  _ infuriatingly  _ weird pattern? And I can’t believe the stamina teenage boys seem to have when it comes to tearing Paris to pieces. Mon dieu, why do teenagers have so many destructive tendencies just pent up inside them like this? Plus, Renardyne is out of the picture right now, I’ve been chasing around Hawkmoth’s new baddies all day, and now Mr. Papillon’s decided that we have  _ twin  _ akuma now-”

 

“Oh, hush.” Queen Bee said, before taking her hand and pulling her into the building. Ladybug was taken by surprise, eyes wide and allowing herself to be led inside before she realized that Queen Bee, the most timid superhero she’d ever seen, had just silenced her mid-rant.

 

“E-excuse me?” Ladybug said incredulously.

 

“You are  _ not  _ excused. You talk like you’re doing this all alone, and boo-hoo you, it’s such a hard life for you! Well, let’s set something straight:,” Queen Bee said whipping around and poking Ladybug on the nose. 

 

“You are not alone anymore. Actually, you never were. Chat Noir has always been there for you. And now you have the rest of us. Yes, Paris looks up to you for support and for a solution in the middle of these kinds of crises. But that doesn’t mean you alone have to deal with all that pressure. So,” Queen Bee said, letting go of an awestruck Ladybug’s arm and crossing her own. “Stop acting like you’re holding the world on your shoulders, when you obviously aren’t anymore. Get used to the idea that someone’s going to be there to help you out with this superhero stuff. And for the love of all that is holy, help us take out those akuma before they decimate this poor school.”

 

Ladybug blinked, staring at a stern Queen Bee, only to be taken out of her stupor as Queen Bee’s words rang true with the sounds of walls crumbling and the sight of rubble flooding into the hall.

 

“S-Sorry.” Ladybug finally managed.

 

Queen Bee smiled. “Apology accepted. You can give a well-deserved one to Chat Noir later. So, uh, let’s go then.”

 

Ladybug chuckled at the rapid deterioration of Queen Bee’s confidence and clapped a hand on her shoulder before running ahead.

 

“Thanks, Bee!”

 


	16. Bombshell

 

 _“I’ll be right back,”_ Pava said in irritation, mocking Chat Noir’s rushed farewell before leaving her alone on the rooftop to find Ladybug. She shook her head as she rushed towards the thundering sounds of chaos the twin akumas were producing. “Right back, my ass.”

 

“Ah, the bug returns!” A shout echoed behind her, causing Pava to whip around and search for its source. All she was met with was the sight of her school’s entrance blown to bits.

 

“Well, maybe Ladybug’ll purify the akumas before anymore damage is done,” Pava offered hopefully.

 

A sudden explosion clouded the side of her school, and cackles echoed out of the gaping hole left behind.

 

With an annoyed sigh, she thrust out the quill in her hand and shot out a stream of ink to the left of her, and then swung forward, shooting her unique ink forward and connecting a line from the rooftop she was about to jump off of to the top of the hole.

 

“Nevermind, then. Monsieur Damocles should be getting a raise or something. Being principal of this school seems like it’s become much more stressful than he probably imagined,” Pava said to herself as she tapped her makeshift zipline to check if it had dried. It set as smooth as marble, and with a satisfied nod, she took a running start towards the edge of the building she was on, and took a great leap into the air. Hands gripping the durable bone of her quill, she held it over the pitch black rail and let it scrape its way down, her ears thrumming with her pulse as she caught speed in her descent towards her school. She wrung her hands around the quill, beginning to brace herself for landing, and took a deep breath.

 

“Okay, okay, okay,” She whispered to herself as the wall she began to approach her end point dangerously quick. “On three, you jump. No big deal. Just do it when you can and-”

 

Pain ricocheted throughout her entire body as a large object smacked into her and knocked her out of the air. Legs flailing, Pava gasped for air after having it knocked out of her, but her attempts to breath again were thwarted as her body crashed into the cold, hard cement, causing it to break upon impact. Her head pounded, her heart beat thrummed loudly in her ears, and her entire body felt like it had shattered. She hardly registered the bits of concrete that hit her face as another body went flying into the ground right next to her, a blur of red and black crashing into the hard cement. In a struggle to open her eyes, the faint sounds of malicious laughter broke through the thick silence in her ears.

 

“Well, there’s one way to kill two birds with one stone!” Gem said, jumping onto the edge of the hole left in the wall with his brother. “I didn’t even know we could shoot bombs out the sides of these hammers. Did you, Ini?”

 

Pava’s eyes cracked open in the slightest, and she turned her right to catch a glimpse of her leaders back, still and unmoving.

 

“Ladybug?” She whispered unsurely, her voice sounding muffled, like someone had shoved wads of cotton in her ears. Propping herself up on an elbow, she realized that Ladybug must’ve landed face first into the ground, and though their suits were supposed to withstand even the most severe damage, a surprise bomb meant unknown consequences for her hopefully unconscious teammate. She poked Ladybug’s side in hopes of a response, and waited a few seconds.

 

Nothing happened.

 

“Oh no,” Pava whispered, her voice filled with dread.

  


“No!” Queen Bee shouted, devastated as she watched Pava continue to fruitlessly rouse their leader. She faced the two brothers, who had begun an immature quarrel during the tension that had followed Ladybug’s crash.

 

“I totally knew, bro,” Ini said to his brother.

 

“But how could you have? Neither of us tried using the hammers for anything other than smashing, especially you. You’re a liar.”

 

“Am not!”

 

“Are too!”

 

“Hey, assholes!” Queen Bee roared, interrupting the twins’ argument. She gripped her weapon tightly, gritting her teeth as she seethed with rage. She took the loose piece of cloth that stuck out on the top of her blowdart gun, and yanked it as hard as she could to uncoil the promised whip that it could transform into. With a fearsome crack, Queen Bee sneered at the twins and said,

“You’re gonna regret that.”

 

“Ladybug, please,” Pava begged aloud, gripping Ladybug’s shoulders and flipping her onto her back. Traces of blood flow from her nose had dried, and her face looked sickeningly peaceful. She searched for a pulse on her neck.

 

“Oh god. Oh god.” Pava whispered in a panic. There was no pulse.

 

“How? _How_? You’ve battled so many akuma, fallen down the Eiffel tower more times than I can count-Is this really it? Is this what crushes Ladybug once and for all?”

 

She closed her eyes in hopes of a solution, only to hear a faint voice in her head reminding her of her go-to, built in answer.

 

“You will be gifted with the power of playing with fate, rewriting the purpose or destiny of anything you wish to suit your needs.”

 

Pava opened her eyes and shakily whispered, “Changing Fate.”

 

Her hand glowed with a bright blue mist, magical sparksof blue and green whizzing around in no particular order. Pava pressed her head down onto Ladybug’s forehead and watched as the magic soaked inside of her, and just like that, it was done.

 

Pava inhaled sharply and pressed her two forefingers on her neck to check her pulse.

 

“Alright, let’s try this again,” She whispered to herself in hopes of soothing her frazzled nerves. “Just breath, Alya, don’t let it turn into a panic attack, and focus on the pulse.”

 

Pava waited, and waited, and time seemed like it was slipping away from her, and the sounds of the vicious fight playing outjust above her seemed to fade, and her muscles were tensing up, and her breath was becoming rapid, until-

 

She felt a beat.

 

“Oh, thank god,” Pava said in relief. She sat back and put her head in her hands, taking a deep breath. “Hawkmoth hasn’t managed to kill Ladybug. God, we were caught so off-guard.”

 

“Get off me, prick!”

 

Pava snapped up, her hearing apparently fully recovered and fully capable of hearing the clashing between Queen Bee and Gem and Ini up above. She stood up and gazed above her to find that the two-on-one battle seemed to be surprisingly matched as Queen Bee shone with a honey glow. With a flick of her wrist, Queen Bee’s whip wrapped around Gem’s hammer, and with a sharp tug, she effectively rammed it into his face. Pava winced.

 

“Oh shit, she used Carpe Diem. She’s gonna detransform soon. I don’t have time to call Chat, but...”

 

She trailed off at the sight of a comatose Ladybug, whose chest moved up and down as she breathed steadily. Pava nodded her head and looked back up.

  
“Someone has to help.” 


	17. Lucky Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeping Beauty rouses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This could've been longer lmao

_Beep, beep._

 

“Aw, what?” Pava shouted as she dodged another swing of a hammer. “You really gotta leave right now?”

 

Queen Bee shrugged as she desperately tried to keep Gem’s hammer away from him. “Here, catch!”

 

She tossed the weapon at Pava, who used a stream of ink to grab it, keeping it from Ini’s reach. She gripped the hammer with both hands, surprised at how heavy it was.

 

“Gonna have to ditch you for now. You’ve got more time than I do, so try your best to fight until Ladybug wakes up. Good luck, Pava!”

 

With that, Queen Bee zoomed into the school through the hole the akumas left behind.

 

“Oh no you don’t!” Gem shouted as he jumped up to follow her. His hand reached out to grab her wings, but Pava shot a stream of ink at him before he could, effectively pinning him against the wall of her school.

 

“Bro!” Ini shouted, and he glared at Pava with murderous intent.

 

“Let’s make this quick, future frat boy. I’m on the clock,” Pava said, sticking her quill behind her ear. However, Ini didn’t hesitate to take advantage of this split second opportunity, and as Pava only held the hammer with one hand, he swung down and knocked it out of her hand.

 

“Let him go, you bi-,” Ini growled, until he was interrupted by an ink splatter effectively sealing his mouth shut.

 

Pava put the quill back behind her ear and smiled.

 

“No.”

 

“The brooch, brother! Get her brooch!” Gem called out. Ini’s eyes flickered to Pava’s miraculous, and she bent her knees, preparing for any attack that was about to be thrown at her.

 

“Oof, I’ve got a killer headache. What happened?” Ladybug said, sitting herself up as she rubbed her temples.

 

Pava glanced at her leader for a split second before returning her focus back onto the akuma. Eyes locked on him, Pava took a deep breath.

 

“Welcome back, LB. Queen Bee had to detransform, I’m about to, and Chat isn’t back yet. I need help, and fast.” She shouted out, hoping Ladybug heard her as she kept her gaze steady on any sudden moves Ini made.

 

Ladybug looked ahead in a tired haze to find Pava fighting one-on-one with one of the brother akuma, while the other akuma was stuck to the wall with her trademark ink. Her mind began to focus, running a game plan through her head as she instinctively grabbed her yo-yo and flicked it up, tapping the cat paw icon.

 

He answered immediately. “Ladybug! What happened? Why is your nose bleeding?”

 

“Hey Chat-Wait, what?”

 

Ladybug touched her nose to find that there was indeed dried blood beneath her nose, and she creased her eyebrows in concern. She shook her head.

 

“Focus, Chat. Where are you?”

 

“On my way, but it’s packed like you wouldn’t believe around here. I guess Paris has caught onto the whole two akuma thing. I keep getting stopped and asked questions about it, as if I’m not on my way to do my job.”

 

Ladybug looked behind her to find that there were what looked like thousands of people standing behind  barricades set up by police, snapping photos and shouting moral support to the heros.

 

“Well, Queen Bee is out, and Pava’s about to about to be. I need your help.”

 

“But, my Lady-”

 

“No buts, Chat. It’s gonna be just you and me, just like old times.”

 

“Ladybug, I already used Cataclysm to help some people from the destruction the akuma caused. I’m about to detransform, too.”

 

“What? Are you serious right now?”

 

“Ladybug, a little help would be really appreciated right now!” Pava shouted as she kicked Ini’s feet from under him. She pointed to her brooch, indicating another beep had gone off.

 

“Okay, okay,” Ladybug said, taking a deep breath. “You’ll just have to get back into the game as soon as possible. One akuma’s disabled, so I can hold off Ini as long as possible until I get my back up. Then we corner him in the school, where all of you will have already transformed again. Got it?”

 

“Got it. Good luck, my Lady.”

 

The call ended, and Ladybug’s yo-yo snapped shut. With a groan, Ladybug pushed herself off of the ground and spotted the hammer lying a few feet away. A plan began to form in her mind, and she took off, grabbed the hammer, and sprinted towards the fight.

 

“Pava, get in the school! I’ll handle him until you can transform again!”

 

“But I don’t want to leave you alone!” Pava replied as she jumped to the right to avoid Ini lunging at her.

 

“I’ll be fine! Go inside!”

 

Pava looked at her in her worry, but nodded her head in resignation. Shooting a stream of ink out through the hole left in the wall, she pulled herself into the school grounds. Ladybug shifted her focus to the akuma, who held a battle stance, gritting his teeth. Ladybug knelt down to a battle stance of her own, face composed and breathing steady.

  
“Lucky me,” She muttered, before twirling the hammer in her hands and charging forward.


	18. Moon to Your Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The solution to the no-powers problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late and short update, school started back up again and im already swamped with work, so bear with me as i try to find some spare time between tennis practice/games, AP assignments, and sleep to continue updating this story!

Chat Noir grunted as he catapulted himself over the crowds surrounding his school and through the front doors. He landed smoothly and wasted no time as he took off in a sprint, looking for a place to detransform without being seen by the students that were probably scrambling to hide in the cafeteria or the bathrooms. He boosted himself up using his staff, getting him to the second level of the school, and ran towards his homeroom. He grit his teeth, feeling the seconds counting down until his transformation, and in a panic, he realized it would release before he reached his classroom.

 

“No, no, no,” he whispered to himself as he raced towards the classroom door, reaching out for the door handle. And then, like a crashing wave, he detransformed, and stumbled into the classroom, panting and out of breath. Plagg jumped out of Adrien’s ring and yawned.

 

“Jeez. kid, there was no one around.” Plagg said as he stretched. “Didn’t have to push yourself so hard.”

 

“Ugh,” Adrien huffed. “I just didn’t want to be seen on accident.”

 

Plagg sniffed, and went completely still as he looked ahead at an old friend staring back at him in surprise.

 

“Follė?

 

She scoffed.

 

“Plagg?”

 

Adrien snapped his head up, looking around to find the source of the voice, glanced at Chloé, and his eyes landed on another kwami that looked similiar to a bee.

 

_ “Oh.”  _ He thought.

 

Adrien glanced again at Chloé, and did a double take.

 

“Oh.” He said aloud, his breath hitching.

 

That single word hung heavy in the air between the two, staring at each other wide-eyed. Breath, after breath, they remained silent, even as Plagg snorted at their reactions.

 

“Always get stuck with the oblivious ones, don’t we, Follé?” Plagg said, shaking his head. Follė sighed.

 

“Always do.” She said as she laughed. “So how’ve you been, you smelly stray?”

 

  
“Smelly. Obviously. And yet that doesn’t deter my love for the greatest thing in this world: Camembert.” Plagg said dreamily. Follé laughed, and Plagg smiled cheekily. 

 

“Well, what about you, have you bugged anyone out of their minds with your queen-bee personality?”

 

A laugh escaped Adrien, and the tension seemed to fade as he looked at his kwami incredulously.

 

“I’m either rubbing off on you, or I get my superhero puns from you.”

 

Follé huffed. “The puns are probably all him, believe me.”

 

“Don’t you mean, bee-lieve me?” Chloé said quietly, cracking a small smile. Adrien looked at her, and anxiety made his stomach twist, unsure of how she was going to react.

 

“Oh god, look at what you’ve done to my chosen, Plagg. You’re a terrible influence.”

 

Plagg laughed, slapping his knee in mid-air. “Now you sound like Tikki!”

 

The two kwami giggled, and Chloé tore her focus away from them and let her gaze fall on Adrien, who tensed as he anticipated her reaction. Finally, she just shook her head.

 

“So, you  _ did  _ know it was me.” Chloé said with a smirk.

 

Adrien let himself relax, and he shrugged.

 

“I couldn’t  _ not  _ know. You’ve been my best friend my entire life, Chloé. It’s hard to unlearn all of your, uh,  _ quirks _ . No offense.”

 

Chloé snorted. “Some taken.”

 

The two laughed quietly, and fell into a comfortable silence. Then suddenly, Chloé’s demeanor changed, and she hunched her shoulders, her eyes beginning to water. 

 

“Oh, Chlo, don’t cry on me now. We’ve got two akumas out there, and I can’t afford to go out there crying, too. It’ll ruin my reputation as a cool cat,” Adrien pleaded jokingly, walking towards her with open arms. Chloé sighed, her breath shaky as she welcomed his embrace, and Adrien could feel her body shake with suppressed sobs.

 

“I’ve been so terrible, Adrien. I’m always throwing myself at you, acting like I’m this possessive jerk because I’m scared you’ll find a better friend in someone else, when in reality, I’m just pushing you away even more! How do you even put up with me? Why do you even put up with me?” Chloé sniffled into his shoulder, her voice muffled and weak.

 

“Oh, Chlo. No matter what, I’ll always be there for you. You’re a good person, and I know the way you act isn’t you. The real you. That’s why I stick around. Through thick and thin,” Adrien said, gently pushing her off of him to grip her shoulders. He held her gaze, and gave her a soft smile.

 

“I’ll always be the moon to your sun.”

 

“Wow. That was cheesier than Camembert,” Plagg said as he happily munched on his snack. Follé nodded in agreement, tossing the lime rind behind her with a small burp. Adrien rolled his eyes and looked at Chloé with faux annoyance. Chloé laughed, her voice still thick with emotion, and she wiped her eyes with a heavy sigh.

 

“We have to help Ladybug.”

 

“We still don’t have enough energy yet, kids. You’re either gonna have to wait, or do it without the suit.” Follé said.

 

“Without the suit?” Adrien asked in confusion.

 

“Yeah. How do you think Ladybug manages to keep the ball rolling after she detransforms?” Plagg stated matter-of-factly.

 

The two looked at each other, silence filling the room for what felt like an eternity, until they seemed to have reached a silent agreement.

  
“Plagg, come with me. We’re doing this the old-fashioned way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw i really like this arc it's one of my favorites so far


	19. You Win Some, But,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You lose some, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AP CLASSES ARE CURRENTLY KICKING MY ASS ITS BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE I'VE HAD ANY FREE TIME I HATE RESPONSIBILITY AND SCHOOL

Ladybug patted Ini down, struggling to find the source of akuma that had infected him as he squirmed inside the constraints of her yo-yo. She huffed in frustration.

 

“Can you stop moving for like, two seconds?”

 

“Keep resisting, brother! Break free and grab her Miraculous!” Gem shouted from his place on the wall. Ladybug scowled at him, causing him to wither under her furious glare. She turned to Ini, growing irritated with her fruitless search.

 

“That’s it. I’m bringing you inside the school, away from your brother. Thank goodness they evacuated this place already, or else everyone would have to hear him whine.”

 

Ignoring the shouts of his brother and his own muffled protests, Ladybug dragged Ini inside the damaged building. Dropping him onto the floor with an echoing thud, Ladybug sat on the floor in front of him, crossing her legs as she stared at him quizzically. He only returned her gaze with a glare, and the two engaged in an impromptu staring contest. Seconds ticked by, and Ladybug sighed and blinked, ruffling Ini’s purple hair affectionately, to which he recoiled. The empty entrance of her school was utterly silent, and Ladybug knew that she needed to get rid of the akuma before the situation escalated any further. But she was thoroughly stumped. Letting out a drawn out breath, she put her chin in her hand and looked at Ini.

 

“You must be in high school already, by the looks of you. I only know of middle school students getting akumatized. What happened to you and your brother that got you into this mess?” She whispered to him quietly. Ini’s gaze softened in surprise, only for him to look at the ground, silently scowling. Ladybug frowned, scratching her head as she tried to figure out how to get rid of the akumas. After failing to get him to respond again, Ladybug pushed herself off of her feet.

 

“Lucky Charm!” She shouted, tossing her yo-yo up into the air. A burst of magic fluttered out around her, and it dispersed in an instant, dropping an object she caught with one hand.

 

“An electric razor?” She said aloud in confusion. She sighed wearily and blew the bangs out of her face, facing Ini.

 

“Want a haircut?”

 

“He likes his hair just like that, thank you very much!”

 

Ladybug whipped around only to be met with an object hitting her in the stomach full force. She hit the floor with a thud, and curled up, gasping for air. Gem, covered with the sticky ink he was trapped in, spit some out of his mouth, his teeth stained black.

 

“My brother may be an idiot, but he’s got me to make up for where he lacks in the intelligence department,” Gem said, wiping his mouth. He readjusted the grip on his hammer and walked over to his tied up brother. With a sharp tug, he whipped him around in a flurry, and loosened him out of the yo-yo’s grip as he spun onto the ground.

 

“Chew your way out of your gag. It’ll taste unpleasant, but unless you’d like to remain silent and continue doing the world a favor, you’ll get over it,” Gem said. Ini scrunched up his nose as he began to chew, obviously repulsed by the taste of the ink.

 

Ladybug struggled to push herself back of, clutching her chest tightly. She huffed irritably.

 

“That might actually leave a bruise.”

 

A sudden kick to her side caused her to yelp as she hit the floor once again, causing her to drop the razor. She grunted, looking up to face the twin akumas that had her at her most vulnerable; she was without her weapon, her partner, and the hits she took were starting to hurt--a lot. Tikki’s magic was supposed to prevent lasting negative effects that would affect her daily life. But she was getting tired, and a two-on-one fight was something she started to doubt she would win.

 

“Brother, if you could do the honors,” Gem said smugly, waving his hand towards Ladybug. Ini grinned, the black goo staining his teeth and all around his mouth making him look like a menacing clown. He reached for her ears, and she squirmed away, fighting until the very end to keep her Miraculous. Ini grabbed her shoulders and slammed her onto the ground, and yanked out her left earring.

 

“No!” Ladybug screamed, grappling for her Miraculous until she felt the magic wash over her. She turned onto her side and covered her head in attempt to keep her identity and the other half of her Miraculous safe. Gem laughed as he and his brother pried at her arms. And then, a proud Ini raised his fist into the air, victorious in his efforts.

 

✶

 

Hawkmoth’s grip tightens on his weapon, the staff from which he released each corrupting akuma. His breath hitched, and his mouth parted into a wicked grin.

 

The Ladybug Miraculous is finally his.

 

He could see victory within his grasp. A cruel laugh escaped him, echoing around the dimly lit room, and around the pure white butterflies that he kept inside. He could finally rest, knowing that he had taken down Paris’s hero. Taking the lovesick Chat Noir’s Miraculous would be a cinch, knowing he even would give up his own life if it were to save his partner. He closed his eyes and thought of the power he would soon obtain, of the army he would rule, the family he would fix-

 

Of her.

 

The only reason why he would have ever gotten where he was in the first place. He could reverse his fatal mistake and bring her back, and finally repair the damage he had done. She could be his again. He was so, so close, and there seemed like nothing could stop him now. He felt untouchable. Unbeatable.

 

“Hey!”

 

Hawkmoth’s eyes snapped open, and he looked through the eyes of his akumatized victims to see its source. He gasped, mouth parting in surprise.

  
Adrien, gripping Chloé’s hand like it was his lifeline as he stood in front of Ladybug’s assailants, had never felt so furious in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ruh-roh


	20. Full Disclosure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignorance is bliss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess the world does know now lmao

Ladybug patted Ini down, struggling to find the source of akuma that had infected him as he squirmed inside the constraints of her yo-yo. She huffed in frustration.

 

“Can you stop moving for like, two seconds?”

 

“Keep resisting, brother! Break free and grab her Miraculous!” Gem shouted from his place on the wall. Ladybug scowled at him, causing him to wither under her furious glare. She turned to Ini, growing irritated with her fruitless search. 

 

“That’s it. I’m bringing you inside the school, away from your brother. Thank goodness they evacuated this place already, or else everyone would have to hear him whine.”

 

Ignoring the shouts of his brother and his own muffled protests, Ladybug dragged Ini inside the damaged building. Dropping him onto the floor with an echoing thud, Ladybug sat on the floor in front of him, crossing her legs as she stared at him quizzically. He only returned her gaze with a glare, and the two engaged in an impromptu staring contest. Seconds ticked by, and Ladybug sighed and blinked, ruffling Ini’s purple hair affectionately, to which he recoiled. The empty entrance of her school was utterly silent, and Ladybug knew that she needed to get rid of the akuma before the situation escalated any further. But she was thoroughly stumped. Letting out a drawn out breath, she put her chin in her hand and looked at Ini.

 

“You must be in high school already, by the looks of you. I only know of middle school students getting akumatized. What happened to you and your brother that got you into this mess?” She whispered to him quietly. Ini’s gaze softened in surprise, only for him to look at the ground, silently scowling. Ladybug frowned, scratching her head as she tried to figure out how to get rid of the akumas. After failing to get him to respond again, Ladybug pushed herself off of her feet.

 

“Lucky Charm!” She shouted, tossing her yo-yo up into the air. A burst of magic fluttered out around her, and it dispersed in an instant, dropping an object she caught with one hand.

 

“An electric razor?” She said aloud in confusion. She sighed wearily and blew the bangs out of her face, facing Ini.

 

“Want a haircut?”

 

“He likes his hair just like that, thank you very much!” 

 

Ladybug whipped around only to be met with an object hitting her in the stomach full force. She hit the floor with a thud, and curled up, gasping for air. Gem, covered with the sticky ink he was trapped in, spit some out of his mouth, his teeth stained black.

 

“My brother may be an idiot, but he’s got me to make up for where he lacks in the intelligence department,” Gem said, wiping his mouth. He readjusted the grip on his hammer and walked over to his tied up brother. With a sharp tug, he whipped him around in a flurry, and loosened him out of the yo-yo’s grip as he spun onto the ground.

 

“Chew your way out of your gag. It’ll taste unpleasant, but unless you’d like to remain silent and continue doing the world a favor, you’ll get over it,” Gem said. Ini scrunched up his nose as he began to chew, obviously repulsed by the taste of the ink. 

 

Ladybug struggled to push herself back of, clutching her chest tightly. She huffed irritably.

 

“That might actually leave a bruise.”

 

A sudden kick to her side caused her to yelp as she hit the floor once again, looking up to face the twin akumas that had her at her most vulnerable; she was without her weapon, her partner, and the hits she took were starting to hurt--a lot. Tikki’s magic was supposed to prevent lasting negative effects that would affect her daily life. But she was getting tired, and a two-on-one fight was something she started to doubt she would win.

 

“Brother, if you could do the honors,” Gem said smugly, waving his hand towards Ladybug. Ini grinned, the black goo staining his teeth and all around his mouth making him look like a menacing clown. He reached for her ears, and she squirmed away, fighting until the very end to keep her Miraculous. Ini grabbed her shoulders and slammed her onto the ground, and yanked out her left earring.

 

“No!” Ladybug screamed, grappling for her Miraculous until she felt the magic wash over her. She turned onto her side and covered her head in attempt to keep her identity and the other half of her Miraculous safe. Gem laughed as he and his brother pried at her arms.

 

Hawkmoth’s grip tightens on his weapon, the staff from which he released each corrupting akuma. His breath hitches, and his mouth parted into a wicked grin. 

 

The Ladybug Miraculous is finally his.

 

He can see victory within his grasp. A cruel laugh escapes him, echoing around the dimly lit room, and around the pure white butterflies that he kept inside. He could finally rest, knowing that he had taken down Paris’s hero. Taking the lovesick Chat Noir’s Miraculous would be a cinch, knowing he even would give up his life if it were for his partner. He closed his eyes and let himself think of the power he would soon obtain, of the army he would rule, the family he would fix-

 

Of her.

 

The only reason why he would have ever gotten where he was in the first place. He could reverse his fatal mistake and bring her back, and finally repair the damage he had done. She could be his again. He was so, so close, and there seemed like nothing could stop him now. He felt untouchable. Unbeatable.

 

“Hey!”

 

Hawkmoth’s eyes snapped open, and he looked through the eyes of his akumatized victims to see its source. He gasped, mouth parting in surprise.

 

Adrien, gripping Chloé’s hand like it was his lifeline as he stood in front of Ladybug’s assailants, had never felt so furious in his life.

 

“Don’t harm him!” Hawkmoth shouted as he saw the twins start towards Adrien and Chloé. He watched his son drop into a battle stance, along with his childhood friends, and groaned in frustration when he watched his akumas falter. 

 

He had to get them away from there. His son was no hero, years of timidly obeying his every command proof of that, and yet the way Adrien’s eyes smoldered with rage, with a fire that he had never seen before, made his stomach twist.

 

“Get away from her.” Adrien growled. Chloé’s eyes flickered back and forth between the stand-off, glancing at the cowering Marinette in worry.

 

_ “Does Adrien know who she is?”  _ Chloé wondered.  _ “I know it’s not the best time to care, but if he doesn’t-”  _

 

“Chat Noir, run! Just leave me here, you can’t let them take your Miraculous, too!” Marinette called out, her voice muffled beneath her arms. Adrien froze.

 

Hawkmoth didn’t register the exchange at first. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he watched his son frozen in his tracks, fear apparent on his face.

 

Chat Noir?

 

“Don’t be a hero right now, Chat. I can’t afford to lose my partner,” Marinette continued. “Please, please, just go. It’ll be alright, chaton-”

 

“Marinette!” Chloé called out, obviously flustered at the fact that Marinette hadn’t caught on to the fact that she had just outed her partner’s identity to Hawkmoth himself. Adrien looked at Chloé in bewilderment, but she just barreled forward, past the twins and knelt down besides a surprised Marinette, who had removed her arms at the sound of her name.

 

“We’re not transformed.” She said finally. 

 

Marinette knew she should’ve just told Chloé to go away, even if she was confused as to why she was there in the first place, but once the words she said clicked, she slowly turned her head towards the voice of her partner, dread filling her stomach.

 

When she saw Adrien, her stomach dropped.

 

And then the world went black.

 

“La-Marinette!” Adrien called out. He rushed passed the confused twin akumas and slid onto his knees to scoop her up into his arms. Chloé picked up the polka-dotted razor, the unused Lucky Charm cold in her hands.

 

_ “You have the power to do what no human being is capable of. What no one else can. You can do the impossible, Chloé.” _

 

She would have to, if they were going to make it out of this alive.

 

“Follé,” she breathed, trying her best to quietly call out to her kwami in her cardigan. She saw her head poke out, and with a simple nod, her thought was understood. She stood up and bolted for the exit, ignoring the shouts of her friend as she shouted, “Follé, transforme moi!”

 

Hawkmoth watched his son scoop up the vulnerable Ladybug into his arms, calling out to his best friend, and yet his mind refused to make the connection. It was almost as if he was refusing to accept it.

 

Adrien could feel his rage turning into sorrow, as he realized the damage that had been done to his Lady. They had taken her Miraculous and forced her to reveal herself. He was helpless to save her, as long as the team was detransformed. She tried to warn him, and though she accidentally outed him in the process, he couldn’t bring himself to care. He felt his throat close up, and suppressed a sob as he touched his forehead to hers. To Ladybug’s.

 

To Marinette’s.

 

Anger began to bubble at the sight of his son cradling Ladybug in his arms as realization finally began to sink in.

 

His worst enemy lived in his own home. His own son foiled his plans to bring his mother back, and he didn’t even know it. He was just this girl’s puppet, putty in her hands with every wink and sway of her hips, and he didn’t even know that as he chased her around like some lovesick puppy posing as a hero, he was losing the chance of having his parents back together.

 

“Take his Miraculous,” Hawkmoth said, his voice low and dripping with poison. 

 

The twins grinned at each other, and sauntered towards the mourning Adrien, when suddenly, they were yanked back by the hair, falling backwards onto the floor.

 

“What now?” Hawkmoth roared.

 

Queen Bee, glowing golden with power, flipped Gem onto his back, effectively pinning him. She clicked on the razor, ran it through his purple hair, and out popped the akuma.

 

Ini lunged for her, but she dodged him and kicked him down, grabbed his hair, and shaved one clean line through it. 

 

“No!” Hawkmoth cried out. He threw his staff to the ground, trying to reason with himself. 

 

Only Ladybug was known to be able to purify akumas. No one else could. His akumas would just multiply, and then he’d have his army to go with her Miraculous.

 

_ “Je te libére du mal!”  _ Chloé shouted, throwing her arms up and channeling her power out of her hands. Two golden beams of light struck the akumas, and in a flash of blinding light, it was over. Two white butterflies fluttered away, and the battle was over. Queen Bee felt her power drain away, and she wiped away the tears of frustration that had started to well in her eyes. She looked at Adrien, crying as he held his partner in his arms, and she sighed.

 

But the war was far from over.

 

She tossed up the razor in her hands into the air, hoping for the best as she shouted Ladybug’s catchphrase. Luckily, the magic knew what to do, and all the damage that had been done was repaired, including Queen Bee’s freestyle haircut on the twins. They looked up at her in a daze.

 

“Laura?” One of the them said. Queen Bee tilted her head.

 

“Uh, no. Not Laura. Sorry, bud.”

 

“Oh,” He said quietly. He turned to the other twin, who refused to look at him. He sighed, picking at his polo shirt as he began to speak.

 

“I’m sorry for pretending to be you. It was wrong to both you and Laura, manipulating her like that. I just-Sometimes, I wish I was you. You have it all, James. The brawn, the girls, the popularity, and I didn’t mean for it to get this out of hand-but it won’t happen again. I won’t let my jealousy ever come between us again.”

 

“You? Wishing to be me?” James said, shaking his head. “Man, you’ve got so much going for you. You’re going to America to be in one of their Ivy League Universities, like shit. I wish I was you, Patrick. You have a life ahead of you. All I’ve got is Laura.”

 

Queen Bee smiled as Patrick put his hand on his brother’s shoulder and said,

 

“No. You’ve got me, too.”

 

James looked at him with a grateful smile, and the two embraced. Queen Bee sighed as they stood up and walked out of the school, reminiscing on childhood memories with each other. She wondered if the Lucky Charm helped people resolve their own conflicts, as well.

  
But Hawkmoth had almost taken Ladybug’s miraculous. Their leaders had been revealed, and not everyone was exactly on good standing terms with them. She supposed there was just some things that couldn’t be fixed with magic alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> confirmed


	21. Oh, For Fox Sake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reveal isn't going exactly as planned(unplanned?).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hate my life lmao

Unbelievable.

 

Nodding curtly to Natalie as he stepped inside his limousine, Gabriel could no longer bear the utter betrayal he felt.

 

Thwarted in his efforts to fix his family by his own son.

 

He slammed his own door shut, not waiting for the chauffeur to come around and close it for him. The chauffeur simply grunted and got in the front seat, looking in the rear view mirror at him, waiting for a destination.

 

“The Lycee. I need to pick up my son at once.”

 

✶

 

“I need to get her home.”

 

Chloé sighed, detansforming and sitting next to Adrien. She looked at Marinette’s face, peaceful as she had yet to wake up from when she fainted, and put a hand on his shoulder. Adrien looked at her, and Chloé could see just how devastated he was. Sighing, she gave in to the question nagging at the back of her mind.

 

“She’s okay, Adrien. She still has her Miraculous, and I’m pretty sure Hawkmoth didn’t see her civilian identity. Why are you so broken up over this?”

 

Adrien looked down, shrugging.

 

“S-She wanted to keep her identity secret, and she didn’t have a choice. It just feels so unfair that I learned it this way,” He said somberly.

 

Marinette stirred in his arms, lazily raising her arm to rub at her eyes.

 

“Ugh, maman, it’s too early to get up on a Saturday…”

 

Adrien and Chloé froze, watching as Marinette yawned and opened her eyes. She stared at them blankly, until slowly, realization set in, and you could see the panic bubbling up in her eyes.

 

“Hold on, Marinette, it’s okay-”

 

“Chat Noir. You’re Chat Noir,” She said incredulously. She turned to Chloé, who pointed to the comb at the base of her ponytail.

 

“And you’re Queen Bee,” she squeaked. Chloé gulped.

 

“U-uh, yes.” She stammered, suddenly anxious as she witnessed Marinette’s negative reaction.

 

“Put me down, Adrien,” Marinette demanded. Adrien looked hurt, but complied anyways, setting her down onto the floor. She stood up and faced the two with a resigned expression, before slumping back down to the ground, pulling her knees up and covering her face.

 

“I’m not who you expected I was. This must be really disappointing.”

 

“What?” Adrien said, utterly surprised.

 

“And I know you’re probably disgusted that _I’m_ Ladybug, Chloé. You probably don’t think I deserve to be her,” Marinette continued. Chloé sighed, exasperated with her leader’s low self-esteem, seeing too much of a similarity between her own insecurities and Marinette’s.

 

“Marinette, I’ve known you were Ladybug,” Chloé stated plainly. “I’m pretty sure you hate me, because I am literally the worst person in this school, and yet I was chosen as a hero anyways. Why? I don’t even know. All I am is this anxious girl who thinks she can make a difference, even though she always screws up and ends up ruining everything anyways. But by the sound of it, you feel like that, too.”

 

“I don’t understand how either of you think you’re screw-ups,” Adrien added. This caused Marinette to peek up from her knees, and Adrien pushed forward while he still had her attention.

 

“You’re both amazingly strong, and once you have your mind set on doing something, there’s no changing it. You saved our butts just now, Chloé. All by yourself. You took a chance with purifying the akuma, and it paid off. And you, my Lady,” Adrien said, looking at her with what he hoped would convey all the love and care he held for her as he held her gaze, “Were willing to take on both of the akumas in order to keep your team safe. You scold me for taking the bullet for you, but you’re ready to risk life and limb just so that we can make it.”

 

Adrien scooted towards Marinette, who blushed and looked away as he neared her. He took her hand, which caused her to look at him in surprise.

 

“I know you didn’t want us to know this way. For me to know this way. But we have to make do. And I will never be disappointed in you, Marinette. You are, and always will be, my Lady.”

 

Marinette looked at him wide-eyed, mouth slightly agape as her entire face flushed.

 

“B-but I’m just-”

 

“Marinette?” Chloé said wryly. “You can’t just be Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is the girl who stands up against me for the entire class, who is actually class president, who beat Max at Ultimate Mecha Strike, and who leads an entire team of superheroes in her spare time.”

 

“Well, it’s not really spare time. My grades can attest for that,” Marinette muttered. Her friends laughed, causing her to smile shyly.

 

“See? No matter how beaten you get as Ladybug, Marinette will never be broken,” Adrien said proudly.

 

“Guys! Is the fight over?” A familiar voice called out, followed by shouts of protests. Renarydyne and Pava sprinted into the hall where they found the three surrounding each other. Renardyne stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Marinette, and she wiped her nose as discreetly as possible before walking towards her.

 

“I told her to stay in bed but she charged in anyways, sorry.” Pava said, panting as she jogged into the room. She paused as she realized that her teammates were supposedly not present.

 

“Are you okay?” Renarydyne asked, looking at Marinette in concern.

 

“Are _you_ okay? You were bed-ridden when I last called you!” Adrien scolded. Renardyne looked at him in bewilderment, but Adrien simply snapped.

 

“Oh right, you two don’t know who we are yet. Um, Plagg? Transforme moi.”

“Man. You’re really working me, kid.”

 

A flash of green magic washed over him, and he felt his suit covering his skin once again. He could feel Marinette staring at him from behind, but he stared ahead at the two heroes in front of him.

 

“Chat-Adrien?” Renardyne sputtered, stepping back in surprise.

 

“I was right! Holy shit, Marinette, I was right!” Pava shouted, pumping her fists before freezing and looking at a disappointed Marinette. Chloe brought up her own transformation, which shocked Pava, but Renardyne didn’t seem too fazed.

 

“You guys need a superhero 101 crash course,” Marinette deadpanned. “We all do, apparently. Tikki, transforme moi.”

 

She stood up, ignoring the light that blinded her as she lifted herself to her feet. This time, Renardyne’s mouth dropped open and recoiled, drawing her arms back as an audible gasp was heard from both her and Pava. She stood up, feeling both naked and yet empowered as she faced her team.

 

“There’s no real point in hiding your identities from us any longer,” Marinette said. “But if you so choose to-”

 

Pava dropped her transformation mid-sprint, tackling Marinette onto the ground and enveloping her into the tightest hug she could manage.

 

“Oh my god, it’s you! I’m best friends with Ladybug!” Pava shouted with glee before Ladybug could register what was happening. Alya began to cry, sobbing joyfully as she squeezed her friend tighter.

 

“You idiot, you almost died today! Oh my god, I can’t believe you put yourself through this. You can’t even go up a flight of stairs without tripping, and yet here you are, saving Paris!”

 

“Alya?” Ladybug said, realizing who it was embracing her. She returned the hug swiftly, relief flooding her as she realized she wouldn’t have to hide the biggest secret of her life from her best friend.

 

Alya pushed herself off of her friend and slapped her upside the head.

 

“Ow, what gives?”

 

“You almost died! Actually, I’m pretty sure you did die!” Alya shouted. “You were on the ground and you weren’t breathing and-”

 

“I’m pretty sure I was breathing?” Ladybug said in confusion. “I remember having this really weird dream that was like, two seconds long before I woke up to you fighting.”

 

“...Oh.”

 

  
“It was a pretty fast recovery, though, so I’m sure if you tried to help, it worked,” Ladybug offered. Alya nodded, just relieved her best friend was okay.

 

“What the hell?” Renardyne shouted, startling everyone out of the moment. “Marinette is Ladybug?”

 

“Uh, yes. I’m Ladybug.” She said, the words surreal as she spoke them aloud. Renardyne looked like she was fighting back tears.

 

“So you _are_ just fake,” She seethed. She released her transformation and stepped back from Ladybug, glaring down at her as her heartbreak turned to rage.

 

“L-Lila? But I thought you said you weren’t Volpina,” Ladybug said, her stomach filling with dread. She was starting to warm up to Lila, even finding she might have a crush on her, but she had forgotten about the animosity Lila had towards Ladybug; why had she thought it would ever last? She never meant to keep up such a facade, but in the end, she was just as selfish and manipulative as she had claimed Lila was.

 

What was going to happen now?

 

 _“Of course she’s Ladybug. Why would the universe had it any other fucking way?”_ Lila mentally raged. _“Once you fall hard for someone, they never stay. Why don't I learn? Why don’t I ever learn?”_

 

“I wasn’t. I was Renardyne,” Lila said, turning away from Ladybug as she felt her rage dwindle away, leaving her shattered heart to flood her with emotion. “I had a second chance. Even though I thought I didn’t deserve it, Master Fu gave me on anyways. For once, my lies hadn’t ruined something for myself. For once, I thought I could love someone, and they would actually love me back. But I guess it never mattered to you. After all,”

 

Lila faced Ladybug one more time, giving her a sarcastic smile.

 

“You _hate_ liars.”

 

Ladybug felt like she had just been slapped in the face, watching as a sniffling Lila turned and walked out of the school. She stood up to follow her, but felt a hand on her arm.

 

“Let her cool down. Talk to her alone when the time is right,” Chat Noir said. Ladybug felt her throat close up, and she nodded solemnly. Alya sighed, looking at Chloé.

 

“Yeesh. So this is why you were acting weird, huh? You and her both,” Alya asked. Chloé shrugged.

 

“It’s weird, getting a second chance. You feel different, so you act different. I’m sure Lila will come around, knowing just how grateful she was for being chosen.”

 

“I hope so. Even though I’ve wanted to punch both of you in the face before, now I kind of just feel bad. No offense or anything. About wanting to punch you, I mean.”

 

Chloé waved it off. “It’s expected.”

 

A flash of light, and Marinette was back on the floor, beginning to cry. Chat Noir released his own transformation, and rested a hand on her shoulder as she turned away from him, trying to hide her tears. Alya walked up to her and knelt down, pulling her into a hug.

 

“It’s okay, Nett. You’ve just gotta help us be better at this superhero stuff. And don’t worry about Lila. If she really loves you, then she’ll come around and apologize to you. And if you love her,” She said, pulling away from her to push back loose strands from Marinette’s face. “Then you’ll wait and apologize, too.”

 

Adrien looked down at the floor, biting his tongue as irrational jealousy settled in his chest, making his cheeks go warm in irritation. He knew that Lila was only a victim of her own lies, and that Marinette liked her sincerely, but knowing she was Ladybug now didn’t make his heartbreak any easier to bear.

 

“Guys, I think we should get out of here before the reporters decide to swarm the place. Honestly, what was Lila thinking, just walking out like that?” Chloé said in annoyance.

 

Marinette looked at Alya, who simply nodded towards Adrien. She sighed heavily, wiping away her tears.

 

 _“So Lila hates you-again. Adrien is Chat Noir, your best friend and partner who hits on you constantly, your other best friend has also hit on you many times while in suit, and the girl who made your life hell since middle school is the shy superhero you pitied the first day you met her.”_ She thought. Shaking her head, stood up. There was only two options to choose as of that moment: freak out, or work it out. She was revealed to her team and possibly Hawkmoth, and her relationship was strained with two of the most important people in her life. She sighed.

 

_“Well, time to do damage control.”_

 

She turned to him as he sat and stared at the floor glumly. She tsked and walked over to him.

 

“Hey, chaton?”

 

Adrien looked up at the nickname, and was met with a welcoming smile and an extended hand.

  
“Mind walking me back home?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit im writing and ive stopped caring about homework do not expect such a good length chapter like this for a while lmaooooooo save me


	22. Lovebug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pun master learns from the pun god.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sick and i have some free time i love autumn so much

His arm taking hers, Adrien and Marinette walked through the back of the school, avoiding the prying eyes of the reporters that searched fruitlessly for the heroes inside of the school. The plan was for Alya and Chloé to meet them at the bakery in two hours after Marinette and Adrien had a little “talk”. Adrien was scared out of his mind, still unsure of what Marinette thought of him after having been revealed. He hid it well, though, and swallowed his insecurities, if for the moment, in order to keep an aura of calm. Waving goodbye to Chloé and Alya, the two pushed through the bushes that created the border around the school and made their way towards the bakery. Adrien sighed, looking at Marinette cautiously.

 

“So.”

 

Marinette glanced at him for a second, before returning her gaze straight ahead of her.

 

“So.”

 

“It must be hard to babysit four superheroes,” Adrien joked, trying to lighten the mood. “And I’m sure I’ve been no help.”

 

“Oh, believe me, you’re no help at all,” Marinette replied, a smile tugging at her lips as they fell into the comfortable banter previously unfamiliar to their normal life. She patted his arm reassuringly.

 

“But in all seriousness, I don’t think I’d be sane if it weren’t for you, Ch-Adrien. Despite us being a team, I still can’t help but see you as my partner. It-It’s hard to forget that you’re essentially my other half,” She said with a shy smile. Adrien grinned.

 

“Thank god. I thought I was just being clingy for feeling the same way.”

 

_“Adrien.”_

 

The two jumped at the sound of Gabriel’s voice, the steel evident in his tone. They turned as the limo parked right next to them, and Gabriel let himself out, not even waiting for the door to be opened for him.

 

“You have not been answering my calls. For all I know, you were near the akuma attack today,” Gabriel seethed, the white lie hot on his tongue. “I need you to come home immediately. Tell Mademoiselle...”

 

Gabriel’s gaze fell on the girl next to his son, and he vaguely recognized her. His eyebrow lifted as he mentally sifted through his memories, recognition nagging at the back of his mind.

 

“...Dupain. What a pleasure to see you again,” Gabriel said, his gaze softening. Adrien was hanging out with the budding fashion designer? Doubt started to cloud his thoughts, and he wondered if he was just jumping to conclusions. Maybe the detransformed Ladybug had mistaken his son for her partner; they were similar physically, but their personalities were strikingly the opposite of each other. They were foils, and the thought of his son Chat Noir seemed less and less likely. And he also knew his son would never do something so reckless as become a superhero; he always withered under his command, how could Adrien hold his own in an akuma attack?

 

Adrien’s head hung, and he began to slowly walk towards the limo, until a hand was put in front of him. Adrien looked up at his father in surprise, seeing a tender look in his eyes as the rest of his face remained emotionless.

 

“I-I seem to have remembered an important meeting that I must attend. Miss Dupain, would you mind having wait my son at your home for me to pick up soon? It is an urgent matter.”

 

The two looked at Gabriel in bewilderment, but Marinette was the first to snap out of her confusion.

 

“U-uh, yes! Of course, Monsieur Agreste. And it’s, uh, Dupain-Cheng.”

 

“My apologies, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng. You behave yourself, Adrien,” Gabriel said, laying a hand on his son’s shoulder.

 

“I’m putting a lot of faith in you.”

 

Adrien looked at his father with wide eyes, completely surprised at his father’s sudden change of heart. He nodded his head.

 

“I won’t let you down, father.”

 

Gabriel nodded stiffly, and did the same to Marinette before opening the limo door and sitting inside, looking straight forward as the window rolled up, and the limo sped away.

 

“What...just happened?” Adrien asked aloud, the absurdity of the situation finally dawning on him. Marinette shrugged helplessly.

 

“I honestly thought I’d be the last person your father would approve of. Isn’t Nino still banned from your house?”

 

“Yeah. Though I’m glad he approves of you,” Adrien said with a smile. “Now I don’t have to worry about introducing you to my parents, bugaboo.”

 

“Ew, Adrien, don’t use that nickname in public,” Marinette groaned playfully, walking away as she shook her head. Adrien chased after her as he laughed.

 

“Aw, I’m sorry, does it _bug_ you?”

 

“Oh god…”

 

“Kid, you’re gonna drive her away with these puns,” Plagg said, zipping out of Adrien’s shirt. Adrien stuck his tongue out at him playfully.

 

“No, I’m sure I won’t. She probably thinks my puns are _spot_ on.”

 

“Tikki, make it stop. If he won’t listen to his kwami, maybe he’ll listen to you,” Marinette groaned, putting her face into her hands. Plagg’s ears perked up at the sound of Tikki’s name. Her small purse flew open, and Plagg was tackled mid-air, startling both Marinette and Adrien.

 

“Plagg!” Tikki shouted, squeezing Plagg with the tightest hug she could manage. Plagg’s eyes widened, completely shocked at the sight of his partner. Tikki pulled out of the hug and swatted his arm.

 

“What have you done to your poor chosen? He’s making puns as bad as yours!”

 

“T-tikki!” Plagg spluttered in surprise. Tikki shook her head and giggled, all traces of annoyance gone.

 

“Hello, love! It’s so good to see you,” Tikki sighed, planting a kiss on his head. Plagg remained completely frozen, flustered and in disbelief.

 

“You guys...are in a relationship?” Marinette asked in surprise.

 

“U-uh, yes,” Plagg finally managed, croaking it out as he scratched his head in embarrassment.

 

“But I thought you said cheese was better than girls,” Adrien said. Tikki gasped and scowled playfully at Plagg.

 

“Oh, did he now?” She said, putting her hands on her hips. Plagg shrugged with a sheepish smile.

 

“Technically, I meant human girls. Nothing could replace you, lovebug.”

 

“Awww,” Tikki cooed, giving Plagg another hug. This time he returned it, sticking his tongue out at Adrien as he did so. Then he nodded towards Marinette and winked before closing his eyes in content.

 

Adrien rolled his eyes and smiled at the ground, trying to hide the blush that was forming on his face as he refused to look at Marinette.

 

Marinette put a hand over her heart, obviously supportive of the cute relationship the two kwami had. She whipped out her phone to check the time and sighed, grabbing Adrien’s arm and leaning against him. She put her chin on his shoulder as she showed him directions to a local fabric store on her phone

 

“Alright, we’ve been in the same spot for about five minutes, but if you don’t mind, I’d really like to make a quick detour at the...”

 

Marinette’s voice trailed off as she met Adrien’s gaze, his eyes wide in surprise and the blush evident on his face. She pushed him away and squeaked.

 

“Oh, sorry! I-I was just-I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable o-or anything-”

 

“No, don’t even worry about it!” Adrien said, trying to placate the stuttering Marinette. “I was just-It’s taking some used to, realizing that I’m already this close to you as Chat Noir, is all.”

 

He gave her a small smile. “But boy, am I glad it was you all along.”

 

Marinette blushed, eyes wide. She broke into a laugh, grabbing her sides as she bent down slightly.

 

“I never even imagined I’d be hearing those words from you,” She said, grabbing her face in disbelief. Adrien laughed, taking her arm.

  
“Let’s just accept this surreal situation for a second, and get you to that fabric store.”

  
Marinette nodded, smiling cheerfully. “Alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this is such a fluffy chapter lmao


	23. Player Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logic, reason, and rational thinking make their first appearances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly where the fuck are these kids' damn sense
> 
> also hELLO this chapter isnt nearly long enough to compensate for how long ive been gone but hey i had some free time take this and run

Nino held up a finger, and put his hand back on his knee, panting as he tried to catch his breath.

 

“Did you really sprint over here? I was just kidding, babe,” Alya said, looking down at her boyfriend in concern. They were meeting in a discreet alley near Marinette’s bakery, and Alya had texted Nino an incredibly urgent message to get him there as soon as physically possible. He snapped his head up, startling Alya and Chloé.

 

“You found out who Ladybug and Chat Noir are?” He exclaimed. Alya covered his mouth in a haste, looking around before smacking his hat down over his eyes.

 

“Nino, you don’t shout shit like that!”

 

“Sorry, sorry,” He said quickly. “I’m just-Holy shit, Alya!”

 

“I know,” She said, her annoyance melting away as Nino shared her excitement. “But you have to  _ promise _ that no matter what, even if you feel like you’re going to burst with this knowledge, you cannot confront them during their civilian daily life.”

 

“I swear on my beats,” Nino said, putting a hand over his heart in a make-shift pledge.

 

“Are you sure they won’t mind?” Chloé asked hesitantly. Nino looked at her in surprise.

 

“What the hell are you doing here?” He asked, though he sounded more surprised than malicious in his question.

 

“Oh, uh, I’m just...passing by?”

 

Alya shook her head and sighed. “We have to work on your improvisation skills, Chlo.”

 

“ _ Chlo _ ? When are you two suddenly friends? Last time I checked, you hated everyone that looked at you the wrong way, and God knows Chloé’s done more than that to you.”

 

“She’s part of the team, babe,” Alya said simply. Nino looked at her blankly, blinking twice before fully processing what she had just said. He finally stepped back, eyeing Chloé suspiciously.

 

“No way,” He said under his breath. Chloé shrinked, uncomfortable under Nino’s watchful eye. Alya looked at her and shot Nino a look.

 

“Hey, ease up on her.”

 

“Ease up on her? Do you even hear yourself right now? This is the girl that’s made everyone’s life a living hell-who makes your best friend’s life as hard as possible! God-Chloé a  _ superhero?” _

 

A sudden object flew in front of his face, buzzing angrily. Nino took a step back in surprise, almost losing his balance as he focused on the object in front of him.

 

“Wait, Follé-!”

 

“Why don’t you just buzz off, kid?” Follé said angrily. “Yeah, she’s made some mistakes-but no one’s ever bothered to be brave enough to ask her why she acts the way she does. All you humans do is jump to conclusions and assume everyone is this static, one-sided trope. Well, I’m sick of it!”

 

“She has a kwami! Oh my god, you are a superhero!” Nino said, looking at Chloé with a huge grin as he completely ignored Follé. “I knew there was some good in you-though I didn’t know it was superhero material!”

 

“Follé, get back in the purse!” 

 

Follé huffed, turning up her nose at Nino.

 

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, kid. Get the full story before you pin someone as something they’re not.”   
  


Nino blinked as Follé grumpily floated back inside Chloé’s bag.

 

“Damn. I just got owned by a giant bee.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Chloé said quietly. Alya patted her shoulder.

 

“Don’t worry, Chloé, you can’t control what she says or does.”

 

“No, I mean...I’m sorry. For everything I’ve done. For every mean comment, insult, action, prank; whatever I’ve done that I know hasn’t been the best example of who I am,” Chloé said as she looked down at the sidewalk, “I’m sorry.”

 

Nino looked at Alya, who simply stared at Chloé in surprise. Nino put his hands in his pockets letting out a long breath.

 

“Once you start treating my boy Adrien better-and everyone else you’ve hurt, too. Then I’ll forgive you,” he said with finality, his expression serious as he faced Chloé.

 

She gave him a sad smile and nodded. “Alright. I’ll do my best.”

 

Nino nodded, and shoved his hands in his pockets awkwardly.

 

“So...which hero are you? Don’t say Ladybug, we already proved you wrong a while back.”

 

Chloé laughed softly. “You got me there. I’m Queen Bee.”

 

“Oh shit, yeah. Your kwami looks exactly like a bee, why didn’t I piece that together?” He said, smacking his forehead lightly. “That’s pretty cool, though. Who are the others?”

 

“I’m not sure if we should tell you,” Chloé said. Alya waved her off.

 

“He already knows the two of us; he’s trustworthy. Plus, he already knows every single one of us out of the mask, so it’s not gonna be a huge shock to him.”

 

Alya looked at her boyfriend, who was nodding. 

 

“At least, I think it won’t.”

 

“It won’t.”

 

“Pretty sure you might freak out initially, now that I think about it.”

 

“I’m not gonna freak out.”

 

“You’re definitely gonna freak out.”

 

“Am not.”

 

“Are too.”

 

“Am not!”

 

“Are-!”

 

“Alright!” Chloé interjected with an irritated huff. “Do you want to know or not?”

 

Nino rolled his eyes and smacked Alya’s hair into her face before pulling her next to him.

 

“Yeah, sure.”

 

“Okay. Ladybug and Chat Noir are,” Chloé paused, lowering her voice as she glanced around the alley.

 

“...Marinette and Adrien.”

 

“Mari-Holy fuck!” Nino shouted, his voice echoing out of the alleyway. The girls shushed him simultaneously, and he slapped a hand over his own mouth.

 

“Jesus, Nino, just let all of Paris know we’re here!”

 

“Adrien can’t be Chat Noir!” Nino whispered harshly. “His dad would literally kick his ass if he ever set foot beyond the house  _ without his permission _ . He wouldn’t even  _ think  _ of fighting crime and evil around Paris in a fucking leather suit!”

 

“Nino, keep it down!” Alya whisper-yelled. “Adrien is Chat; no matter how ridiculous or unbelievable it sounds.”

 

“Marinette as Ladybug though?” Nino frantically whispered. “She shattered a record of fifteen clay pots out of after entering the art room for .5 seconds, got two bruises side by side on her forearm for running into her bedroom door knob twice, and has, according to Max’s calculations,  lost a running tally of 875 school assignments since I’ve known her. There’s a running bet between our class that Marinette will probably reach 1,000 assignments lost before we even graduate middle school! You really believe she’s capable of saving Paris’s ass daily without a scratch?”

 

“It doesn’t matter if I believe it; my best friend is the miraculous Ladybug,” Alya said, her voice firm and confident. “And her team is in trouble, Nino. Our identities have been revealed to each other, and Lila isn’t too happy about the fact that-”

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Nino interrupted, putting a hand up and stepping back. “Lila’s a hero, too?”

 

Chloé was about to answer him, before Nino’s eyes widened in realization, and Alya could almost hear his stomach drop.

 

“She’s Renardyne. And Marinette’s Ladybug. Lila knows...shit man, she was just getting close to her, too.”

 

Alya sighed, aware of the growing affection between her best friend and Lila. Logically speaking, Marinette probably should have either kept her distance or told Lila about her secret identity straight away, but romance had blossomed, and it was something strange and peculiar in how it warped your reasoning and logic. But now, Marinette was probably heartbroken, and though she had Adrien to distract her, it would only work for so long until Marinette realizes that she’d shattered Lila’s heart all over again. And the only possible outcomes of this would be anything but progressive.

 

“Well, what am I supposed to do about it?” Nino asked, his voice cutting into Alya’s thoughts. She glanced at Chloé, who looked at her in as much confusion as was audible in Nino’s question. She took a deep breath, the familiar smell of the chilly air filling her nose and clearing her thoughts.

 

“You’re not supposed to do anything about it. With Lila out of the game for what’ll probably be awhile, we’ll need another player on the team to pull her weight,” Alya said slowly, preparing to finally confess what her purpose for calling him here was, “And I’m gonna tell Marinette that our player six should be you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *action theme music plays*


	24. Rain, or Tears?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's hard to see clearly when your eyesight's blurring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!!!!!sorry for the angst!!!!!!!!!!!

Marinette sat on her bed, staring as Adrien stared out of her window with his nose scrunched up in confusion. She tried to slow down her breathing-not out of anxiety, but because she had spent thirty seconds running around her room to shove every poster she had of Adrien into her garbage bag, and change her desktop to a generic wallpaper of a black kitten playing with a ball of red yarn. He was wearing an old sweater her father owned back in his college days, due to the fact that rain had began to pour when the two were just half a block away from the bakery. It suited him well, making him look fragile, more vulnerable than he probably knew. Marinette stared at his soft features, not even the determined look on his face as he gazed out of the window causing his overall complexion to harden much.

 

In what felt like the slowest three seconds of her life, with the rain pattering against her window, and the gray light making Adrien’s green eyes glow with a surreal kind of brilliance, her mind finally took a moment to connect all of what truly happened. Yes, she had had a talk with Adrien, and managed to overcome the awkwardness that threatened to keep them apart in a little adventure inside of her favorite fabric store, but as she absent-mindedly stroked her new fabric and inhaled slowly, the feelings she tried so hard to keep bottled up, to keep still, threatened to burst the dam of her mind.

 

“I still don’t see them. You think they took a detour, or maybe they got caught in the rain and had to take shelter somewhere else?” Adrien said worriedly. Marinette took a deep breath, .

 

“Um, let me text Alya real quick and ask,” She said quietly, ignoring Adrien’s gaze as she typed out a quick  _ “Where are you?”  _ on her phone and shut it off.

 

“Hey, you okay? You sound super tired all of a sudden. Are you hurting?” Adrien asked her in concern, walking over to the ladder that led up to her bed and stepping onto the first rung.

 

“No, no, I’m fine,” Marinette assured quickly, which wasn’t the complete truth; she had a bit of a headache, and though she was worried about having passed out from a hit for the first time during an akuma attack, it wasn’t what she wanted to talk about.

 

Adrien frowned and began to climb the ladder anyways. Her breath hitched as she picked at the lint spread across her old pullover, keeping her focus on anything but Adrien sitting close to her on her own bed, just the two of them alone on a rainy autumn day. Adrien moved as if to touch her shoulder in comfort, but Marinette noticed he pulled back at the last second, instead placing his hands in his lap to twiddle his thumbs anxiously.

 

“Hey, Marinette?”

 

His voice was soft and quiet, his low tone not grave or distressed, but serious all the same. Marinette looked forward for a second, mustering up all her courage(again), and turned to him slowly, looking at him with a gentle expression.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Uh, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” He assured frantically, holding up his hands, “But, uh, w-what did you...what did you think of me before you knew I was Chat Noir? Of me as in both of my...identities, I suppose. Did you hate Chat? Did you hate Adrien?”

 

The genuine fear in his question took Marinette back a bit. 

 

“I never hated either-you. I could never hate you.”

 

“But,” Adrien said, eyebrows furrowing as if he believed he hadn’t gotten his point across, “You would always avoid me at school. Or struggle to have a conversation with me. Nino and Alya have told me a bunch of reasons why, like, you just get shy around certain people, or maybe it’s because of the gum incident, or even-” 

 

He paused, before shaking his head, “You know, a bunch of other stuff. But what did you really think of me?”

 

“Well, what do you really think of  _ me?”  _ Marinette asked before realizing the words were escaping from her mouth. She tensed, but Adrien didn’t seem to notice as he looked up at the ceiling pensively.

 

“Of you? Well, uh, let’s see...Well, I always knew you-as a civilian-were a natural leader. I mean, you managed to beat Chlo in the student election out of a popular vote. Like, a genuine, popular vote. And you always stood up for your friends, and sometimes you even stood up for me. You were always kind of clumsy and goofy, though,” He said playfully, making Marinette shake her head as she laughed quietly, “So that really made me think of you as…”

 

He trailed off, and Marinette looked at him anxiously, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

 

“Human. Real. Wonderfully, beautifully, flawed. I guess that’s why I never found out you were my partner-I never saw Ladybug that way,” Adrien said, a strange expression that Marinette couldn’t exactly pinpoint clouding his face. He looked at her as if he was just realizing this himself as he said this to her.

 

“I-I-uh,” He said, laughing nervously as he shoved his hands into the pocket of the pullover, “Well, uh, to put it short; I’m hopelessly in love with Ladybug.” He said, shrugging helplessly.

 

“Marinette was beautiful, but Ladybug was just a dream come true; someone who I could depend on to save me from myself, and from villains trying to kick my butt. She-You seem to trust me completely. But you don’t seem to feel the same way.”

 

Adrien looked away, as if ashamed. “I never meant to put Ladybug on a pedestal, and I’m not disappointed that she turned out to be you. I just-I fell in love with-with you, apparently. But not exactly you; an image of you. And I’m not sure if it’s completely fair to you. Because now I see Ladybug for who she really is: a brilliant, normal girl who wasn’t exactly born great, but is amazing anyways. Someone who makes mistakes, but does everything in her power to fix them. A real hero.”

 

Marinette cursed mentally as her eyes threatened to spill over with silent tears. She bit her lip and forced herself to look at Adrien, who was still turned away.

 

“I guess that’s why I want to know what you think of me. Because even if you don’t feel the same way, I want to know if I at least measure up in any way. If you still think I should be your partner.”

 

“You will always be the only one capable of being my perfect partner,” Marinette said firmly. Adrien looked at her in surprise, and his eyes widened as he found that her eyes were slightly red, and there were tears running down her cheeks.

 

“Chat Noir is a goofball,” Marinette said, smiling through her tears. “He’s a dork that makes stupid jokes in the middle of a fight, pours his heart out for the sake of his city, and never, ever, loses the will to keep fighting, even if he’s losing. Adrien, I put you on a pedestal, too. I-You were this gorgeous model that had this huge heart and a never ending kindness that made my knees weak, and even though you made a bad first impression, that moment in the rain…”

 

Adrien looked at her in awe as she lifted her gaze, her dark blue eyes glistening with tears in the dreamlike gray light that filled her room. 

 

“C'était un coup de foudre,” She whispered. “You...you struck me like lighting, and I knew I would never be in love with someone like I was with you. Chat Noir is you, though, and with that knowledge, it is so much easier to love you.”

 

Marinette sighed, closing her eyes. She seemed unaware of Adrien’s slack jaw and wide eyes.

 

“You’re amazing, Adrien. But you’re also an idiot. But I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

 

“Guys, dream team meeting, stat!”

 

The two flinched, completely startled as Alya burst into the room with Chloé and Nino in tow.

 

“Uh,” Marinette said nervously as she noticed Nino entering the room. “Nino? What are you-?”

 

“Oh, he already knows our identities. Oh, I wanted to talk to you about something, Marinette!” Alya said excitedly. Adrien glanced at Marinette and cleared his throat.

 

“Uh-I’ll-I’m gonna just get down th-the ladder,” He stuttered. Marinette nodded a little too quickly and followed after him.

 

“Why does Nino know about our identities, by the way?” Marinette said, her voice a bit strained as she struggled to hide her annoyance. Alya didn’t notice.

 

“Apparently, he’s known about Alya’s for a while,” Chloé drawled. Alya shot her a look, but snapped back to her excited smile in an instant.

 

“I think Nino should have a Miraculous!”

 

“Excuse me?” Marinette said in surprise. Alya nodded her head and grabbed her hand.

 

“Yeah! With Lila mad at you and all, we’re gonna need an extra hand, and Nino is a perfect addition to the team! Plus, we could use all the help we can get when it comes to defeating Hawkmoth.”

 

“Lila isn’t gone for good, though,” Marinette snapped. Alya looked at her in confusion, her smile faltering.

 

“But...she hates you. Well, Ladybug. She’s not coming back anytime soon.”

 

“You don’t know that, Alya. She’s just-” Marinette searched for an explanation, taking her hand from Alya’s as Alya’s smile fell completely, “Hurt right now. Look, I trust you with all of my heart, but you can’t just assume she won’t come back.”

 

“Yeah, I can,” Alya said irritably. “You told her off and embarrassed her without mercy, so now the entire school hates her. You think she’s okay with the fact that her new best friend is the same person that ruined her life?”

 

“I didn’t ruin her life!” Marinette said, her voice slightly raised now. Nino and Adrien glanced at each other nervously as Alya rolled her eyes.

 

“You can’t keep denying this, Marinette. She liked you, she’s hurt, and now she hates you again.”

 

“But she’s not gone!”

 

“Don’t be stupid!” Alya shouted, startling Chloé next to her. Marinette clenched her hands into fists, and Nino stepped forward as Alya began to do the same.

 

“Alya, she liked Lila, too,” He said quietly, not looking at Adrien or Marinette as he did so. “She doesn’t want Lila to hate her, so it hurts her to think about Lila hating her.”

 

Alya opened her hands slowly. She looked up at Marinette, who was looking down at the ground and desperately trying to keep herself from crying, which she was obviously failing to do. Adrien was looking out the window, the hurt visible in his expression.

 

“Oh. I’m-I’m so sorry, Marinette. I just-You’re just-”

 

“No, I know,” Marinette said quietly. She wiped her nose on her sleeve, uncaring of the unattractive streak she left behind on it. “I know it’s dumb to keep pretending like I can fix things with Lila. As soon as she met me as...just me, we were doomed to fail. I just never thought we’d break up before we even got together.” Marinette said with a dry laugh. She sniffed and walked over to the little twin bed she had tailored to serve as a sort of seating/guest bed for her room, and sat down.

 

“Just let me deal with it. With all of it.”

 

“No, I can’t let you handle it on your own,” Alya said, looking at her friend apologetically as she sat down next to her. “I’m sorry for not getting it at first. But I’m still here to help. He’s,” Alya said, pointing to Nino, “Here to help. We all are. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

 

Marinette smiled weakly, nodding slightly. 

  
“Yeah. I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love it when the setting of my stories finally line up with real life


	25. Connection Lost

She was alone again, and there was no old man to save her this time; there was only rain.

 

It was soaking through Lila’s clothes and hair, but she no longer cared. She was numb, completely and utterly detached from the world as her legs swung back and forth over the edge of the roof of her apartment building. Pygmy huddled inside of her jacket, trying to get what little warmth she could as she worried over her chosen.

 

Lila’s eyes were closed, and her puffy eyes that felt worn from crying felt no more pressure underneath, just the freezing cold the falling rain brought with it.

 

_ “I’m Marinette! You go to school here?” _

 

Marinette always knew. So why did she try to befriend her? She clearly detested her as Ladybug-what was so different this time? It can’t have been a change of heart; no one apologizes for their mistakes genuinely after such a short amount of time. She was an akuma, which should have given her a free pass to be an ass while under Hawkmoth’s control, but then she refused to forgive Ladybug once “saved”; and with good reason, too. Maybe Marinette really did feel bad.

 

“No,” Lila said aloud to no one, shaking her head. She squeezed her eyes and pursed her lips, as if in pain. “No, don’t make yourself the bad guy. You always make yourself the bad guy.”

 

_ “Ah, the betrayal of a friend always leaves a such a painful scar. It feels like it might never heal, no matter what you do, right, Volpina?” _

 

Lila looked up, surprised at the old name used against her when she was akumatized, and her mind became cloudy as the intrusive voice became clearer.

 

“ _ And to find out that the girl you began to love had already betrayed you once before! Ah, how cruel fate can be. But you don’t have to suffer what the Fates have woven for you. You can rip up that tapestry, destroy those ropes that bind you,  and not be forced to pitifully dance in the mocking waltz Ladybug orchestrates as she manipulates you like a marionette on strings. You can be free of her, Volpina. You only have to come back to me.” _

 

“Lila, don’t you listen to that nasty man,” Pygmy’s voice growled in her mind, startling Lila out of her stupor. “He does not want to help you; he will lead you to your downfall in the blink of an eye as soon as he gets what he wants.”

 

“But Ladybug-” Lila began to protest before Pygmy’s disembodied voice  huffed.

 

“Marinette wanted to make it up to you! It is a difficult thing, to forgive someone for two mistakes, I know. But you are letting it consume you. You are letting your own mistakes burn inside of you, melting away any trust you have developed with her. She only kept this from you because she was afraid you would never forgive Ladybug, and therefore never love her.”

 

“You don’t know that, Pygmy.”

 

“I do. And I know you do, too. You and I, we have a keen insight when it comes to reading emotion. We are clever, always aware of our surroundings and one step ahead of those who try to ensnare us. That is what us foxes do; we overcome the enemy. But sometimes, we are our own enemy,” Pygmy’s soft voice reasoned. 

 

“Tell me, Lila, how will you overcome yourself?”

 

_ “Do not take my offer lightly, girl. I do not know why you resist me so, but you have a chance to be rid of Ladybug and her lies. Take this chance; I will not offer it again.” _

 

“I…” Lila trailed off, before squeezing her eyes shut.

 

She’d rather shut herself off to the person that hurt her, knowing full well that her problems could be solved if she only talked it out. But she was afraid it would end with rejection; she was afraid that instead of having to leave like she usually did because of her constant traveling fathers, someone would leave her, and she didn’t know what she would do about that. But instead of completely isolating herself, as she usually did, she knew what overcoming herself meant: she’d have to go back and try to forgive Marinette.

 

Because she wasn’t the bad guy this time.

 

“I refuse to help you. I don’t need to resort to your help this time,” Lila said, her voice trembling.

 

_ “Don’t be an idiot. You think Ladybug is going to be proud of your efforts to avoid me? She doesn’t care about you, she hates you. She always will,”  _ Hawkmoth seethed, the venom dripping off of his voice with every single word.  _ “Join me again, Volpina. You will be the hero Paris deserves once again, and Ladybug will be no more.” _

 

Lila squeezed her eyes shut as she grit her teeth. 

 

“I don’t. Need.  _ Your help.” _

 

_ “Yes, you do,”  _ Hawkmoth growled.

 

“Don’t give in, my Lila. Oh, I’m so sorry, my lovely Lila,” Pygmy’s voice crooned somberly in her mind. The empathy was evident in Pygmy’s voice, but what she was sorry for, Lila didn’t exactly know.

 

“I’m so sorry you didn’t have the perfect life. I’m sorry you don’t have all that many friends. I’m sorry you have to bear the burden of a hero. I’m sorry for not being a good enough Kwamii to guide you,” Pygmy sobbed softly, her voice echoing in her mind. “But please,  _ please, don’t give in.”  _

 

Her voice was like a flare in the dark, and for one hopeful second, Lila opened her eyes Lila dug her nails into her thigh, summoning all the willpower she could. The rain grew louder and louder as it thrummed in her ears, to the point where she could no longer hear Hawkmoth’s enraged insults at her as his hold on her faded away.

 

“I’m not giving in,” She whispered to herself, before opening her eyes once again. The connection was broken. Pygmy cried in relief and flew to Lila’s face, hugging her cheek as she laughed and cried. Lila sighed and stroked her Kwamii’s back as she looked forward into the rainy horizon of Paris.

 

“I’m not ready to talk to her yet,” Lila said, her tone tired but final. Pygmy sighed, but nodded her head against Lila’s cheek. Lila smiled slightly, and pushed herself off of the ground. Wavering slightly as she stood on the edge of the building, she took in the feeling of the harsh rain battering against her skin, the hair clinging to her cheeks and forehead, and the gray sky that enveloped her city.

 

Her city. Even if she moved again, something about this great city was always going to stick with her from now on. Maybe it was the fact that she become a superhero here, or actually made some friends; maybe it was the fact that she had gotten a second chance. Whatever it was, all she knew was that she wasn’t about to let this beautiful city fall at the hands of Hawkmoth. She needed to get back to her team.

 

“Pygmy, let’s get out of the rain,” Lila said finally. “I don’t need another cold to hinder me.”

 

Pygmy looked up at her chosen, analyzing the determined gaze that she had only seen during battle. Lila looked down at her Kwamii, and smiled.

  
“I have a city to protect, after all.”


	26. Help Them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im having the worst day of my life have this chapter while i go kill my overreacting ass

“So...what are we going to do?” Marinette asked no one in particular, the question hanging in the air between the five of them. The rain was beginning to subside outside, and the atmosphere of the room was no longer strained. None of the kids seemed to really know what to do with themselves or each other, and they just shifted uncomfortably as they glanced around Marinette’s very pink room.

 

Nino finally let out a long sigh, and looked at Adrien.

 

“I don’t know. I’m kind of still freaking out over the fact that Adrien’s actually Chat Noir.”

 

It was silent after that, but the awkwardness of the situation seemed to alleviate a bit after Nino’s comment. Everyone slightly nodded in agreement as Adrien looked at him in surprise. His mouth hung open for a second, before he closed it and slowly smiled. And then, suddenly, he began to to laugh.

 

“It’s not _that_ hard to believe!” Adrien giggled before walking over to his friend. Nino looked at him in slight surprise before shaking it off as he scoffed playfully and looked at him incredulously.

 

“Never in a million years would I have guessed that my best friend, who is the perfect role model-uh, no pun intended,” Nino added, which made Adrien grin stupidly, “To be the carefree, kind of dorky, super ripped other half of Paris’s superhero duo.”

 

“I guess it’s easier to believe now though, since it’s obvious that I am, in fact,” Adrien said, before miming the motion of ripping open his shirt, “Chat Noir: The baddest cat in Paris.”

 

“Any stray tomcat on the street is badder than you,” Marinette teased, and Adrien feigned offense while feeling himself blush at her.

 

“I just realized that I flirted with you,” Alya said in shock. Marinette turned to her.

 

“Hm?” Marinette hummed innocently.

 

“As Pava. I-Oh my god,” Alya said as she put her face in her hands in embarrassment.

 

“Excuse me?” Nino asked, his tone slightly annoyed. “You _flirted_ with Ladybug? You’re a taken woman, Alya!”

 

“I know! But I couldn’t help it, and it’s _Ladybug_ and I just loved her so much and it turned out to be Marinette and holy _shit,_ I’m such an idiot,” Alya groaned into her hands.

 

“It’s okay, Alya,” Marinette laughed, walking over to hug her. Alya slumped, her face still red from embarrassment, with a pout on her face that could challenge Chloé’s. Chloé, however, contented herself to walk over next to Adrien and laugh at the scene playing out in front of them.

 

“It must be so strange to find out you were flirting with your best friend,” Chloé snorted. Adrien smiled smugly, and leaned in towards her ear.

 

“Or your sworn enemy.”

 

Chloé squeaked, causing the other three to look at her in pleasant confusion. Adrien did his best to hold in his laughter.

 

“You okay, Chlo?” Alya asked, still being comforted by Marinette.

 

“Yes!” Chloé managed, her cheeks flushing as Adrien raised his eyebrows mischievously at her.

 

“Hey, but seriously, this is all just wild. We’re a superhero team. Well, you guys are,” Nino corrected himself, causing everyone to roll their eyes as Alya glared at him.

 

“Still, it’s insane! Five heroes fighting the evil Hawkmoth in Paris who are actually all just middle school seniors--Just some fourteen year olds who just so happened to have the hearts of a hero-”

 

“And who keep yapping while I’m stuck in this kid’s shirt!” Plagg shouted, his voice muffled. The kids jumped, startled at the intrusion in the conversation, but Adrien only laughed as he lifted his shirt slightly to let Plagg fly out. He stretched out his arms and yawned, uncaring of the wondrous stares from the other teenagers.

 

“Yeesh, while you all keep shouting and crying, us kwamii’s have to get stuffed away and just deal with it? I don’t think so!”

 

Everyone turned to Marinette instinctively, who merely shrugged in agreement.

 

“We may as well let them out, since we already know each other's identities.”

 

The children grew excited as they started to let their kwamii out of their hiding places.

 

“Well, if it isn’t the humble Youya! Ever work up the nerve to tell Wayzz you got have a thing for them?” Follé asked bluntly. Youya sputtered in surprise, their blue cheeks turning a dark shade as they stuttered while they struggled to defend theirself.

 

“Follé! How could you just tell everyone about their crush on Wayzz!” Tikki scolded as Marinette let her out of her purse. Follé raised her hands(stubs?) up as she feigned an innocent smile.

 

“What? It’s not like Wayzz is here or anything.”

 

“Still, just because something is obvious does not mean you should point it out! It’s just rude,” Tikki huffed, crossing her arms as Youya blushed even harder.

 

Plagg snorted as he rolled his eyes. “You’re embarrassing him even more, bug.”

 

“Oh no! I’m sorry, did I embarrass you even more?” Tikki said, apology evident in her voice as Youya just put their face into their hands(stubs???).

 

“Never had much of a way with words, did you, Feathers?” Plagg said teasignly. “Now Pygmy, she could sweet talk her way out of _anything.”_

 

“Or _into_ anything,” Follé agreed. Tikki reluctantly nodded.

 

“Pygmy?” Marinette asked. Tikki turned to answer, but Plagg floated over and put a hand(stub?????????) on her shoulder to silence her gently.

 

“Another kwami of ours. The fox kwamii,” Plagg explained softly. Marinette’s smile faded, but she recovered mostly immediately afterwards. This did not escape Plagg’s eyes, however; and neither did it escape Adrien’s. Adrien felt his stomach twist slightly, but cleared his throat slightly in order to shake off the feeling. He had wanted to talk to Marinette and what she had said to him, but it was definitely not the time to bring such a thing up. Why would he? He was sure she’d be embarrassed to death if he stupidly decided to just announce _“Hey gang! Turns out Marinette is actually super into me and I’m the love of her life, and yes, it’s true, because she just told me so! Can you please give us a sec to sort all of that out?”_

 

Yeah, no.

 

 _“Deal with it later, deal with it later,”_ Adrien thought to himself as his mind drifted off to figure out a way to get Marinette alone to talk to her about her confession.

 

 _“Lila’s kwamii is named Pygmy,”_ Alya thought to herself as she stood next to her boyfriend, constantly squeezing his hand subconsciously. Nino didn’t seem to mind, however. He never did mind when Alya randomly began to stim, even if she was using him to do so. She had always appreciated that, since it helped her think in  even the most raucous of places.

 

_“A smooth talking kwamii for the greatest con artist in Paris. Makes sense.”_

 

“Lila’s kwa….mii?” Chloé asked, her voice faltering as everyone looked at her with a warning in their faces. She shrank back slightly, but froze when Marinette glanced her way and nodded somberly.

 

“Yeah, her kwamii.”

 

The room was quiet for a moment after she spoke. Adrien wordlessly sat down next to her on her

 

“Well,” Follé asked, failing to read the mood, “Where is the fox?”

 

All the kwamii looked at her incredulously, amazed at her complete ignorance on the subject. Marinette sighed, but cut off any other answers before anyone could try and make up an excuse.

 

“With her chosen, who currently hates me because I hurt her as Ladybug, and tried to woo her as just me.”

 

Nino sucked in a breath through his teeth. Everyone shot a look at him, but neither he nor Marinette seemed to care.

  
Follé smiled on awkwardly.

 

“Oh,” She said finally, her tone strained.

**Author's Note:**

> hope i don't suck at writing too much and that you enjoyed this fic so far!!! comments keep me going i love to hear ya'll give me feedback so dont be a stranger!
> 
> (if you wanna message me and stuff my tumblr is goodmoviesequel)


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